(My Sportsbook) - The Philadelphia Flyers will continue their quest for home- ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs when they visit the lowly New York Islanders for today's battle at Nassau Coliseum.

The Flyers have 97 points and are tied with Carolina and Pittsburgh for the Eastern Conference's fourth spot -- the last seed that awards home-ice in the opening round. The Hurricanes and Penguins are both playing their final games of the regular season today, while Philadelphia has a game in hand to use on Sunday.

Philadelphia clinched a playoff berth with Tuesday's home win over Florida, but dropped a road test against the New York Rangers on Thursday. Henrik Lundqvist stood tall down the stretch and finished with 37 saves to help the Rangers clinch a playoff spot with the 2-1 victory at Madison Square Garden.

Danny Briere got the goal for Philadelphia, while Martin Biron turned back 29- of-31 shots in the setback, the club's fourth in its last six games.

The Flyers are playing their final road game of the regular season today and will close out their 2008-09 schedule with Sunday's game against the visiting Rangers. Philly is 19-14-7 as the guest this year and has lost three straight on the road.

The Islanders, meanwhile, are the worst team in the NHL this year with just 61 points. New York has lost two straight, five of six and eight of its last 10 contests and has been outscored by a 15-1 margin over its last two outings.

After getting destroyed at Carolina, 9-0, on Tuesday, the Isles were handed a 6-1 thrashing two days later in Pittsburgh. Mathieu Garon was spectacular between the pipes, stopping 28 shots, and six different Pittsburgh players lit the lamp as the Penguins dominated the Islanders at Mellon Arena.

Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal for the Islanders, while Joey MacDonald turned aside 31 shots in the loss.

The Islanders are closing out the season on a two-game homestand and will host Boston on Sunday. New York is 17-16-6 on Long Island this year, but the club has dropped three of its last four at the Coliseum.

The Flyers have won all five meetings against the Isles this year, although New York was able to record a point in two of those tests. Overall, Philly has taken nine in a row and 12 of the last 13 encounters between the clubs. The Flyers have also come out on top in four straight and five of their last six stops on Long Island.