Preview; Game 23/82: Philadelphia Flyers at New York Islanders

The Philadelphia Flyers (12-7-3) continue their four-game road trip after finding just their 6th regulation win in 22 games. Today, they will face off against one of their division rivals, the New York Isalnders (13-9-2). The puck is scheduled to drop at 4pm/ET.

This should be another great divisional rivalry game. After the Flyers handedly defeated the New Jersey Devils, 6-3, last week, fans should look forward to this game. Especially if their last matchup was any indicator of future rematches, where the Flyers defeated the Islanders, 4-3, in a shootout at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Flyers have a 4-5-1 records against the Islanders. Additionally, there is only a one-point gap between the two teams in the NHL standings. The Islanders currently hold the 1st Wild Card in the Eastern Conference.

The Comeback Kids

The Flyers do not score the first goal often. More than 2 out of 3 times, the Flyers will forfeit that first goal. In spite of this, the Flyers are 9-5-2 after giving up the first goal. It has been one of the emerging identities of the Flyers through the first quarter of the NHL season. After going down 2-0 to the Florida Panthers, the Flyers scored 4 straight goals, beating them 4-2 in regulation. In 3:13 of game time in the second period, Emil Andrae scored a goal, then committed a penalty, and then earned a primary assist on Matvei Michkov‘s game-tying goal. Finally, with under a minute left in the third period,  Tyson Foerster snapped a wrist shot after his first shot was block, and was given a fortuitous bounce that allowed him to score. Sean Couturier would score their 4th goal 21 seconds later, breaking his 17-game goalless drought. Dan Vladař was incredible, stopping 25 of 27 shots and finishing with a .926 SV%.

“We made a couple of adjustments but I thought resilience of the guys, give them a lot of credit. I thought all four lines contributed. The ‘D’ [defense] and Vladdy [Vladar] was great. ” – Rick Tocchet; 11/26/2025

Where: UBS Arena; Elmont, NY

When: 11/28/2025; 4:00pm/ET

TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Last Game PHI: 11/26/2025; 4-2 W; at Florida Panthers

Last Game NYI: 11/26/2025; 3-1 L; vs. Boston Bruins

Philadelphia Injury Report:

• Rasmus Ristolainen (triceps)

New York Injury Report:

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper-body)
• Alexander Romanov (shoulder)

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers are still looking to solidify their 4th line. Nikita Grebenkin got back into the lineup on Thursday night after being a healthy scratch for 3 straight games. Although they did not score (Garnet Hathaway came close on Wednesday night), their play-driving numbers were strong. In their last game, the 4th line drove play well. They combined for a 52.94 CF%, and won the Expected Goals battle, .31 – .17 (64.38 xGF%). Considering coaches rarely change their lines after a win, Grebenkin should play in today’s game. Additionally, Rick Tocchet said in the post game that all four lines contributed, which should imply that he felt Grebenkin did well.

Samuel Ersson is confirmed to start today. Ersson over his career is 4-0-0 against the Islanders and possesses a 2.40 GAA and .913 SV% against them. In his last matchup against New York, Sam lifted the Flyers in a shootout, winning the game, 4-3. In that game he stopped 23 of 26 shots, and finished with a .885 SV%.

Team Stats

On offense, it is pretty close between both teams. The Flyers currently rank 26th in goals for per game (2.73). The Islanders have the slight edge in this category, ranking 21st in the league (2.96). On the power play, the Flyers have the slight edge and rank 21st (16.9%), compared to the Islanders who rank 31st (12.7%).

On defense, the Flyers slightly edge out the Islanders. They rank 9th (2.77) in goals against per game. The Islanders rank 10th, allowing 2.79 goals against per game. Additionally, the penalty kill currently sits at 4th (86.2%) league-wide. The Islanders, who also have a strong penalty kill, rank 8th (83.3%).

Philadelphia Flyers Projected Lines:

#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #11 Travis Konecny

#39 Matvei Michkov – #14 Sean Couturier – #10 Bobby Brink

#46 Trevor Zegras – #22 Christian Dvorak – #74 Owen Tippett

#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #18 Rodrigo Ābols – #19 Garnet Hathaway

#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim

#36 Emil Andrae – #9 Jamie Drysdale

#24 Nick Seeler – #5 Egor Zamula

#33 Sam Ersson

(#80 Dan Vladař)

New York Islanders Projected Lines:

#27 Anders Lee – #13 Mathew Barzal – #29 Jonathan Drouin

#51 Emil Heineman – #14 Bo Horvat – #21 Kyle Palmieri

#10 Simon Holmström – #64 Calum Ritchie – #49 Maxim Shabanov

#11 Anthony Duclair – #53 Casey Cizikas – #7 Maxim Tsyplakov

#48 Matthew Schaefer – #6 Ryan Pulock

#3 Adam Pelech – #77 Tony DeAngelo

#34 Adam Boqvist – #24 Scott Mayfield

#30 Ilya Sorokin

(#33 David Rittich)