Islanders' Maxim Tsyplakov: Pockets helper Thursday

Tsyplakov registered an assist and five PIM in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Flyers.

Tsyplakov had to answer the bell for his hit to the head of Ryan Poehling when these two teams previously met Jan. 16. He took care of it by fighting Scott Laughton at 4:51 of the first period, and that was the end of the aggression. Tsyplakov would add his helper as the Islanders' fourth line combined for the team's second goal, scored by Marc Gatcomb. The assist ended an 11-game point drought for Tsyplakov, who is unlikely to be very effective if he remains in the bottom six. He's at 20 points, 63 shots on net, 31 PIM, 102 hits and a plus-9 rating over 46 appearances, but the bulk of his offense has come when he's in a middle-six role.