Since the end of the 2006-07 season, the Islanders are an abysmal 1-17-5 against their division rivals. Tomorrow night, they play host to the black and orange in hopes of making that 2-17-5.
Philadelphia has a very good club this season as it did last- currently standing fourth in the East and sixth overall. Claude Giroux is fast becoming the centerpiece of the team, leading his team and standing second in the NHL in scoring with 48 points. However, he won't be the biggest threat to the Isles, strangely enough.
No, that honor goes to noted Isle-killer Daniel Briere, who has 24 points (half of them goals) in his last 19 games against us. In fact, he scored the OT winner the night before Thanksgiving, after the Isles had had a 3-1 lead. Briere is sneaky and gifted, and I'm sure he'll be a handful tomorrow if the Isles' D doesn't keep up.
Taking Marty Biron's place in net for the Isles killers is Sergei Bobrovsky. The young netminder has good numbers as it is- 9-3-1, a .919 sv % and 2.45 GAA- but against New York, he is 6-0-0 with a 1.84 GAA. That is scary good, and it almost guarantees he'll be in net against us tomorrow, even with the Flyers' astronomy specialist, Ilya Bryzgalov, ready to go.
Granted, the Flyers have been up and down lately in terms of play. After a poor third period against Ottawa that ultimately cost them the game, the Flyers buckled down and their rookies came up big to give them the win. However, their top line (Giroux, Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr) hasn't scored in three games, and some of their losses have been big this season. Still, they are not going to be easy against the Isles, and players have found ways to break slumps against this team as well.
The best thing the Islanders could do is be aggressive. Philadelphia is a strong team that has skill, but loves the rough stuff as well. The Isles need to answer that bell with a strong, energetic forecheck and plenty of support, and try their best to draw penalties without taking any themselves. The power play has had its struggles, but it's managed to break through in recent games for some pretty sweet goals. The main idea is to throw the Flyers off of their game early and go from there. If the score is 1-0 at the end of the night, in our favor, it'll be an accomplishment, what with Bobrovsky's talent. Just focus.
Until next time.
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