In Game 5 Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers kept their season alive with a 4-3 overtime win in a back-and-forth battle. Heading into Game 6, which will be televised at 7:00 PM on NBCSN, the Islanders have a 3-2 series lead over the Flyers in the second round.

The winner of this series will take on the 2-seed Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final. The Islanders have a glorious chance to close it out today, but are facing a resilient Flyers squad who are looking for their second straight victory against the Islanders for the first time this season.

Islanders 1st-line center Mathew Barzal and Flyers 1st-line center Sean Couturier both left Game 5 with injuries, and are questionable to play in Game 6. However, Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said Barzal is “trending” toward being able to play for Game 6. The Islanders did not have practice yesterday, but the Flyers did and Couturier was absent.

There isn’t much doubt that Carter Hart and Semyon Varlamov will be the starting goaltenders for Game 6, as they both have had excellent postseasons.

Game 6 will likely be a tight, defensive battle. The Islanders have not yet lost two straight games in the postseason, and have responded well to losses. But will that change tonight? Here are three keys that will determine who comes out victorious tonight:

1. Goaltending

The goaltender is the most important player on any team. Period. Especially when it is the playoffs. A good goalie can carry a team to a Stanley Cup, and both Semyon Varlamov and Carter Hart are capable of doing so.

These teams are so evenly matched that it will likely come down to which goaltender plays the strongest game. Each goaltender has a .929% SV and two shutouts in the playoffs, and it will be interesting to see who rises to the occasion in Game 6.

2. Flyers’ Top Gunners

Players such as Claude Giroux and James Van Reimsdyk have been missing all series and finally broke through on the scoresheet in Game 5. Philadelphia’s main struggle so far this postseason has been production from their top forwards- and they’re starting to get it.

Travis Konecny still has yet to score a goal, Giroux and Van Reimsdyk have one a piece, and Sean Couturier had just two before his injury. The Flyers’ top guys have to perform in this game if they want any chance of moving on.

3. Traffic in Front

A lot of Philadelphia’s goals this series have come from putting pucks and people to the net, on tips and screens. The Flyers are a dangerous team in front of the net and both teams should have a different outlook on this factor heading into Game 6.

If you’re the Flyers, keep getting point shots to the net with screens and deflections in front. When you’re playing a hot goaltender like Varlamov, you want to get in the way of his vision of the puck. He hasn’t gotten beat on many straight shots, because he has the ability to track them much better.

From the Islanders’ perspective, you have to realize that deflections are what is killing the Islanders defensively. Some minor adjustments and attention to detail can fix this. The Islanders haven’t done a good job of tying up players’ sticks in front in the past two games, and it has led to pucks in the back of their net. If it’s clearing the crease or winning a stick battle, the Islanders need to stop letting the Flyers create deflections at will.

Projected Lines

Claude Giroux – Scott Laughton – Jakub Voracek

Joel Farabee – Kevin Hayes – Tyler Pitlick

James Van Reimsdyk – Derek Grant – Travis Konecny

Nick Aube-Kubel – Nate Thompson – Connor Bunnaman

 

Ivan Provorov – Matt Niskanen

Philippe Myers – Travis Sanheim

Robert Hagg – Justin Braun

 

Carter Hart

Brian Elliot

* Questionable to play

Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal* – Jordan Eberle

Anthony Beauvillier – Brock Nelson – Josh Bailey

Leo Komarov – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Derick Brassard

Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck

 

Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock

Devon Toews – Scott Mayfield

Nick Leddy – Andy Greene

 

Semyon Varlamov

Thomas Greiss

Prediction: Flyers 2 – Islanders 4 (Final)

The Flyers are a very tough team, but the Islanders also have a knack for responding well to losses. In the Islanders’ first series-clinching games against Florida and Washington, they lost by one goal, and came back the next game with a four-goal victory to close out their opponents. While that doesn’t mean the Islanders will dominate Philadelphia, you can expect a solid defensive effort by the Islanders in the first ten minutes, then for them to pick up their play and generate offensive plays, and ultimately- come out on top.