Islanders at Flyers
The New York Islanders can punch their ticket into the playoffs for the second time in three seasons by securing at least one point when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. The Islanders, who reside one point behind second-place Washington in the Metropolitan Division, have defeated the Flyers in all three meetings this season - with two coming in a shootout.
John Tavares notched an assist in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Buffalo to extend his point streak to three games, which consists of scoring one goal and setting up five others. The captain has collected a goal and an assist versus Philadelphia this season and has scored 13 tallies and set up 10 others in his 29 career encounters. Tavares' 80 points are just one shy of Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby for the league lead, while Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek has 79 to his credit. Voracek recorded a goal and an assist on Sunday as the Flyers completed a four-game season sweep of the Penguins with a 4-1 triumph.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN, MSG Plus2 (New York), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (46-27-6): Jaroslav Halak, who turned aside all 21 shots he faced for his 36th career shutout on Saturday, will face Philadelphia for the fourth time this season. The 29-year-old has stopped 62-for-68 shots versus the Flyers - including all 21 in a 1-0 shootout victory on Nov. 24. Nikolay Kulemin recorded two goals and an assist in New York's 7-4 triumph over Philadelphia on Jan. 19 and also tallied against the Sabres on Saturday.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (32-29-18): Brayden Schenn earned NHL Second Star of the Week honors after collecting three goals and three assists in his last three games. Schenn scored a goal and set up two others versus the Penguins and has notched two assists in three meetings with the Islanders this season. Schenn's tally on Sunday came on the power play for Philadelphia, which is 8-for-20 with the man advantage in its last six games - but just 1-for-6 against New York this season.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia G Steve Mason matched a season high with 46 saves versus Pittsburgh to improve to 3-0-1 in his last four outings.
2. New York C Brock Nelson has scored twice in three games to reach the 20-goal plateau.
3. Flyers D Michael Del Zotto has recorded one goal and five assists in his last five games.