The New York Islanders travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers Thursday night in an Atlantic Division showdown (7 p.m. ET, MSG+).
The Islanders currently stand 13th in the Eastern Conference standings (40 points), and 12 points back of the Florida Panthers for the conference's final playoff spot. Philadelphia comes to town fourth in the conference with 58 points, and a recent 5-1 winner over the Minnesota Wild.
The Islanders blanked the Washington Capitals 3-0 on Tuesday night, and goaltender Evgeni Nabakov has won consecutive starts.
New York is mired in a 13-game losing streak to the Flyers in Philadelphia, not having won since the 2007 season. During that streak, the Flyers have outscored the Islanders by a combined 30 goals.
Islanders star center John Tavares is riding a 10-game point streak, with 17 points (6 g, 11 a) during that stretch. He hopes the Islanders can snap their second consecutive road losing streak versus an opponent, after ending a seven game draught Vs. the Capitals on Tuesday night.
Philadelphia has won a season-high four straight games at home, and will likely turn to back-up goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who has a career record of 7-0-0 against the Isles and has appeared in 17 games this season.
No official word has been released yet on who will start for the Islanders in net, but Nabakov would have a shot at his 302nd career victory should he get the nod.
At last place in the division and trailing the Panthers by a wide margin in the playoff hunt, the Islanders understand the magnitude of each game remaining in their season. Said RW P.A. Parenteau recently, "We know we're playing for our season right now."
With Florida idle, a win on Thursday night would put the Islanders 10 points out of the playoffs with 37 games remaining on the schedule.
-- For more on Islanders hockey, check out the SB Nation blog Lighthouse Hockey.