The New York Islanders will try to build upon their most impressive win of the season on Monday when they welcome the struggling Philadelphia Flyers to Nassau Coliseum.
That may be easier said than done, though, as the Flyers have won six straight and 13 of 14 at Nassau Coliseum
New York won its second straight game on Saturday, as John Tavares recorded a hat trick and also added an assist to lead the Islanders to a 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
"I think any great player puts a lot of responsibility on (themselves) because they want to lead (their) team," coach Jack Capuano said of Tavares. "To me, an elite player is someone you watch night in and night out, and your coaches prepare for in your pre-scout. You're looking at 91 (Tavares)."
Tavares, the first overall pick in the 2009 draft, has now scored in five straight games and his 11 goals on the year are one behind Buffalo's Thomas Vanek for the league lead.
"When I get my opportunities, I want to contribute," said Tavares. "And I know offensively, that's where I contribute the most. Just trying to, when I get my chances, put the puck in."
Matt Moulson tallied once and added three assists, Michael Grabner scored once, and Evgeni Nabokov notched 30 saves for the Isles, who beat the Rangers on Thursday to end a five-game slide.
"We beat two rivals in a tough division," Tavares said of his team's back-to- back victories. "We needed to step it up and stop making excuses for ourselves."
Philadelphia, meanwhile, has dropped two in a row following a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Danny Briere had the lone Philadelphia goal, while Brian Boucher stopped 25 shots in his first start of the season.
"On the offensive side, we've been misfiring right now," said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette.
The Flyers fell to 1-3-0 on their six-game trek and to 2-8-0 overall on the road this season. No other team in the league has more than five road losses.
"There's no compete. We're not winning battles," said Claude Giroux, who has managed just 10 points through 16 games after finishing third in the NHL last season with 93 points.
"We're just going through the motions. You know, we're a young team that can skate. We should be winning more battles than this. It's just frustrating to see. I know I have to be better, but a team is 20 guys and you need everybody to show up."
Philadelphia has won 10 of its last 12 overall meetings with the Islanders.
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