3 keys for Flyers to (again) avoid elimination against the Islanders

The Flyers will try to stave off elimination when they face the New York Islanders at 7 p.m. Thursday in Game 6.

Here are three keys for the Flyers, who face a 3-2 series deficit, to stay alive.

1. Get the power play to regain the efficiency it showed in the regular season.

The Flyers are just 4-for-46 (8.7%) in the postseason, including 0-for-7 in the series against the Isles, who are 3-for-11 (27.3%) in the five games. The Flyers have shown some better signs lately, but they aren’t getting enough pucks to the net and aren’t getting enough rebound attempts or traffic in front of the Islanders’ goaltenders. They seem too hesitant, and at this point in the postseason, that shouldn’t be the case.

Of the 24 teams that competed at the start of the tourney, the Flyers are 23rd on the power play, while the Isles are 11th (18.4%).

During the regular season, the Flyers were 14th out of 31 teams, clicking at 20.8%.

2. Continue to get off to good start.

The Flyers, playing with a higher desperation level, dominated the first period and had the Islanders on their heels in Game 5. But the Flyers couldn’t convert and the Isles scored the game’s first goal — Mathew Barzal’s power-play tally — early in the second period. The Flyers, however, were able to regain the momentum they built early in the game.

“We’ve been chasing the last couple games,” Isles coach Barry Trotz said.

3. Continue to get production from 3 players who had been struggling.

Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk and Travis Konecny had their best performances of the playoffs in Game 5, combining for two goals, three assists and 17 shot attempts (nine on goal) in the Flyers’ 4-3 overtime victory. All three have struggled mightily in the postseason. Giroux has come to life in the last two games.

As my colleague Marc Narducci noted in today’s On the Fly newsletter, Giroux has risen to the challenge in elimination games during his career, producing 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 18 games. In franchise history, that is topped by only three players: Brian Propp (24 points in 21 games), Paul Holmgren (19 points in 13 games), and Kenny Linseman (19 points in 10 games).

Konecny, who led the Flyers with 24 goals in the regular season, has yet to turn on the red light in 14 postseason games. That won’t matter if he plays as well as he did Tuesday.

Flyers coach Alain Vigneault did not give an update on injured center Sean Couturier’s availability during a news conference Thursday afternoon, saying his team would have a next-man-up mentality if he can’t play. If Couturier isn’t available, Scott Laughton, who scored the overtime winner in Game 5, will probably center the top line. … Barzal, who was injured in the third period Tuesday, will be a game-time decision, per Trotz. … In this series, New York’s Josh Bailey (five) and Kevin Hayes (four) have led their respective teams in points, and Justin Braun (plus-3) and the Isles’ Devon Toews (plus-4) have been the plus-minus leaders. … Goalie numbers in the postseason: Carter Hart is 8-4 with a 2.12 GAA and .929 save percentage, and Semyon Varlamov is 9-3 with a 1.85 GAA and .929 save percentage. … In the postseason, the Islanders are averaging 3.29 goals (fifth) and allowing just 1.86 (first); the Flyers are scoring 2.36 goals per game (16th) and allowing 2.29 (third).