The Philadelphia Flyers (24-17-9) return to home ice tonight after a resounding 7-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Even with the fiasco in Utah, it was a successful road trip for the Orange and Black, who came away with 5 points in 3 games. The Flyers now sit at 57 points on the campaign, good enough for 4th in the Metropolitan Division. The third place team, you ask? That would be the New York Islanders (27-19-5) who come to town tonight to battle to keep their playoff spot intact.
Matthew Schaefer
The Islanders have been rocky as of late, only winning 5 of their last 10 games. Thanks to the Flyers’ horrid 6-game losing streak, however, that has been enough to propel the Isles into 3rd place in the Metro. Luck was on the Islanders’ side in the most recent NHL Draft which saw them win the draft lottery. This allowed them select consensus first overall Matthew Schaefer, who has been as advertised so far in his first NHL season.
Not surprisingly, the Islanders’ leading score this season has been forward Mathew Barzal (41 pts), but it’s the newer Matthew who is second on the team in points and as a defensemen. Schaefer has compiled 34 points, 13 being goals, in 51 games played thus far. His dynamic skating and keen eyes on the ice has taken the league by storm. As a rookie, Schaefer ranks in the 99th percentile in speed bursts over 2o MPH.
Back in November, in the Flyers’ 4-3 shootout win over the Isles, Schaefer recorded a goal and an assist in almost 29 minutes of ice time. The Islanders lean heavy on the young D-man and tonight will be no different. As soon as the Flyers get hemmed in their own zone, look for Schaefer to quarterback the attack. The Flyers will have to keep the puck off his stick the best they can.
Back on Track?
If you follow the Flyers X world, first off, God bless you, but during the awful 6-game losing streak that saw the Flyers not only lose games but be thoroughly embarrassed, you would have thought the world was ending. I certainly did. And with the schedule of Vegas, Utah and the best team in the NHL in Colorado coming up… oh boy. But the Flyers did what everyone least expected and that was compete. If Garnet Hathaway‘s controller didn’t die on that empty net breakaway the Flyers would have swept the road trip. As a Flyers fan, sometimes the team just doesn’t make any sense and you have to roll with it. But all jokes aside, maybe they got the bad juju out of their system? We will find out for sure tonight as even though it’s a rivalry game, the Islanders are a lesser opponent than the likes of Vegas and Colorado. The Flyers have to take care of business at home, especially with these crucial points up for grabs.
Michkov This, Michkov That
Look, I’m a big Matvei Michkov fan. And sure, I don’t think he’s being deployed correctly like a lot of other people point out as well. But it’s also his second NHL season. I hate to be that guy, but things take time and sophomore slumps happen. Nonetheless, it looks like he may have gotten some swagger back after the Avalanche game. Michkov looked the best he has looked in a few games now, setting up Denver Barkey and executing that beautiful tip-in goal. If that’s the case, tonight is a big opportunity for Matvei to take over.
The Flyers will most likely be seeing Ilya Sorokin, who is just out of this world. He is carrying a .914 save percentage with a 2.51 GAA in 30 games. They’re going to need all of the offense they can get. Here’s to hoping a lot of that offense comes from Matvei Michkov.
Keys to Winning
When playing the New York Islanders, it’s not rocket science to know there’s two things to solve. One is Sorokin. The other is Schaefer. But I’d argue the Islanders have another weapon and that is secondary scoring. If you take a look at the Islanders roster this season, you’ll notice that 7 players have scored 10 or more goals. Normally it would be Barzal and Bo Horvat causing teams fits, but players like Emil Heineman have been having a solid season. Heineman has tallied 14 goals so far and has provided the Islanders with another option to find the back of the net outside of the captain Anders Lee, Horvat, Schaefer or Barzal. In fact, it was Heineman that tallied a goal the last time these teams faced off.
Another key would be to simply put pucks on net. The Flyers can not let Sorokin be comfortable. Sometimes the Flyers can get caught trying to find the perfect shot. When going up against a goaltender like this, you can’t afford to wait it out. The Flyers must keep constant pressure on the net-minder and the Isles defense on their back foot in order to open up some opportunities.
Tonight, with a win, the Flyers would find themselves back in the playoff picture with the olympic break fast approaching. The recent losing streak may have spelled doom for some, but this team has bounced back and still find themselves in the middle of a tight Metropolitan Division race.
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena; Philadelphia, PA
When: 1/26/2026; 7:00pm/ET
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Last Game PHI: 1/23/2026; 7-3 W at Colorado Avalanche
Last Game NYI: 1/24/2026; 5-0 L vs. Buffalo Sabres
Flyers Injury Report:
- Tyson Foerster (arm)
- Rodrigo Abols (lower-body)
- Dan Vladař (undisclosed)
Islanders Injury Report:
- Ryan Pulock (upper-body)
- Kyle Palmieri (ACL)
- Alexander Romanov (upper-body)
- Semyon Varlamov (knee)
Flyers Projected Lineup:
#46 Trevor Zegras – #22 Christian Dvorak – #11 Travis Konecny
#52 Denver Barkey – #14 Sean Couturier – #74 Owen Tippett
#39 Matvei Michkov – #27 Noah Cates – #10 Bobby Brink
#91 Carl Grundström – #25 Lane Pederson – #29 Nikita Grebenkin
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#24 Nick Seeler – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#36 Emil Andrae – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#33 Sam Ersson
(#35 Aleksei Kolosov)
Islanders Projected Lineup:
#49 Max Shabanov – #14 Bo Horvat – #51 Emil Heineman
#11 Anthony Duclair – #13 Mat Barzal – #10 Simon Holmström
#27 Anders Lee – #44 J-G Pageau – #29 Jonathan Drouin
#32 Kyle MacLean – #53 Casey Cizikas – #16 Marc Gatcomb
#48 Matthew Schaefer – #24 Scott Mayfield
#3 Adam Pelech – #77 Tony DeAngelo
#34 Adam Boqvist – #36 Isaiah George
#30 Ilya Sorokin
(#33 David Rittich)
ULTIMATE WEST COAST HOCKEY TRIP
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