Islanders aim to continue hot streak in rematch vs. Flyers

The New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers will square off for the third time in two weeks on Thursday night when they reconvene in Philadelphia.

The Flyers visited Long Island for a matchup with the Islanders on Jan. 16 and then again last Friday. Philadelphia won the first meeting 5-3, but the Islanders have won all five games they've played since then, including 3-1 in the rematch.

Now comes the rubber match of their three-game January series. The teams' only other matchup of the season will take place April 12 in Philadelphia. In the meantime, both teams are desperate for more wins as they continue to look up at a bevy of teams in the standings.

The Islanders, even with their recent hot stretch, sit in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Flyers.

New York has allowed only seven goals in its last five games, including another crisp defensive effort Tuesday in a 5-2 victory against the Colorado Avalanche.

"On this stretch, we've gotten (back) to our brand of hockey," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "We executed (our style) well. It feels natural, the way it's come together."

Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves against Colorado, while Simon Holmstrom collected two goals and an assist. Bo Horvat also scored for New York, giving him eight goals in the last 10 games.

"Ilya was outstanding in that game," Islanders coach Patrick Roy said in highlighting the Russian netminder.

The Islanders scored four times during the third period Tuesday, turning a close game into a lopsided affair. Nevertheless, Roy knows there is still room for improvement.

"How many times have I said (that) you don't need to be perfect to win hockey games?" Roy said. "That's exactly what we did. We gave ourselves a chance tonight."

On the contrary, the Flyers basically gave themselves no chance to win Wednesday. Samuel Ersson allowed four goals -- two on the power play -- before Philadelphia coach John Tortorella pulled him near the midpoint of a 5-0 setback to the New Jersey Devils.

"I still think we're there. It just got away from us with not being able to kill penalties," Tortorella said.

He acknowledged after the game that Ivan Fedotov, who came on in relief of Ersson, will start in net against New York. If nothing else, the veteran coach is grateful for the opportunity to take the ice again Thursday to quickly get Tuesday's loss behind his team.

"That's all we're looking for," Tortorella said.

The Flyers have lost three of their last four games, scoring a total of two goals in those three setbacks. One of those defeats, of course, was the most recent matchup with the Islanders in which Tyson Foerster beat Sorokin in the first period, only to watch Brock Nelson register a goal and an assist as the Islanders surged for a 3-1 victory.

As for Wednesday's defeat, "We got beat tonight, fair and square," Flyers forward Scott Laughton said. "We're lucky that we get another division game (Thursday), but we got beat tonight. It's a good hockey team, but we need to be better at this time of year."

--Field Level Media