Philly Leader

John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers will face Patrick Roy's New York Islanders in the second game of their back-to-back series on Friday. The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST at UBS Arena in Elmont, and will be broadcasted on NBCSP+ and 93.3 WMMR.

The Flyers recently saw their six-game point streak end with a 6-1 defeat against the Rangers. Owen Tippett scored the only goal for Philadelphia early in the first period. Meanwhile, the Islanders have won two consecutive games since losing to the Flyers last Thursday.

This game marks the second of four meetings between these teams this season, with subsequent games set to take place at Wells Fargo Center on January 30 and April 12.

A notable incident from their last encounter was a high hit by Maxim Tsyplakov of the Islanders, which resulted in an injury to Flyers center Ryan Poehling. Tsyplakov received a three-game suspension and will not play on Friday.

Special teams' performance has been inconsistent for both teams. The Flyers are struggling with power plays, ranking 29th in the league, while the Islanders' penalty kill ranks last. Last week, New York capitalized twice on power plays against Philadelphia.

Rodrigo Abols has been performing well as a "rookie" center for the Flyers, stepping up during absences of key players. He impressed during Thursday's game against the Rangers with his effective play and faceoff success.

Ivan Fedotov is expected to start as goalie for Philadelphia against New York after Samuel Ersson played against the Rangers. The team needs a win to stay competitive in tight standings.

The Islanders have had more rest than their opponents, having not played since Monday and being home for over a week. In contrast, this will be Philadelphia's third game in four nights.

Philadelphia aims to improve shot suppression after allowing 37 shots from the Rangers in their recent loss. Effective defense was key in their previous victories over other teams like Devils and Red Wings.