Flyers aware of Isles' desperation

 Dan Carcillo's prediction for tonight's festivities?

"A rough one, probably," he said. " I don't know. It seems like whenever people talk about it and bring it up, nothing really happens. Obviously, they're mad about last game and if I was on their team I'd probably be too, so it will probably be chippy."

And although mindful of the Islanders six-game losing streak, the Flyers have their own streak to protect--five consecutive wins.

" They have a lot of pride over there and they want to end their losing streak and we want to keep our winning streak going, so it should be a pretty hard-fought game."

"It's a big rivalry, no question about that," Jody Shelley said. "It's gonna be a standard game. Finishing checks, winning battles, all that good stuff. It's going to be a good game and they're so desperate for a win that it sets up for a good Saturday-night match-up."

Despite the physicality that's sure to ensue, the Flyers do have to consider a pretty successful power-play of late--nine PP goals in the past five games.

"We've got to play smart," Shelley said. "It got a little silly at the end [last game] and that's understandable. We had a big lead and thats how it goes sometimes. There are a couple things that are remembered but Danny Briere got disciplined and he's not playing. But they are more desperate for a win and they want to save face, so who knows..."

Head Coach Peter Laviolette said his team is aware of an Islander club desperate to halt a six-game skid.

"I think anytime you play a team that hasn't won hockey games, there's meetings going on, desperation level goes up, intensity level goes up, everyone's on edge," the former Islanders coach said. "When a team's not winning there's usually intensity on the other side. We've got to make sure we're ready to play with that same intensity."