PREVIEW 6:30 AM
January has been a month of inconsistent hockey for the Philadelphia Flyers (27-14-4). Today, the team will look to bounce back from an awful performance in its last game when it rides up to Newark to take on the New Jersey Devils (26-18-2). Today's matinee starts at 1 PM and will be broadcast on CSN Philly.
This is the third of six meetings between the teams this season, and the second of three at the Prudential Center. The Flyers and Devils have split the two games so far, with each winning on the other's home ice.
On the opening weekend of the season, Ilya Bryzgalov registered the Flyers' lone shutout of the season, making 20 saves. Claude Giroux, Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds provided the offense in a 3-0 victory in New Jersey. One month later, the Devils came to Philly and grabbed a 4-3 shootout win. Giroux, Zac Rinaldo and Max Talbot scored for Philadelphia.
The Flyers enter this game coming off an extremely poor offensive and defensive performance in a 4-1 home loss to the New York Islanders. Overall, the team is 6-4-0 in its last 10 games. Rookie center Sean Couturier (5 goals, 1 assist in the last 6 games) has been the team's hottest offensive player of late, while Giroux, Jaromir Jagr and Danny Briere have all been mired in midseason slumps.
New Jersey is 6-3-1 in its last 10 games, and is coming off a 4-1 loss to the Bruins on Thursday.
Longtime Flyer-killer Patrik Elias has played extremely well the last couple months (25 points in his last 21 games) and has racked up 32 goals (9 PPG) and 71 points in 72 career games against the Flyers. Meanwhile, Ilya Kovalchuk had four goals and six points in the four games leading up to being held off the scoreboard by the Bruins. Zach Parise has points in eight of his last 11 games, but has been kept off the score sheet in two of the last three tilts.
On the injury front, the Flyers are still without James van Riemsdyk (concussion), while Zac Rinaldo (neck) is day-to-day and likely to be available today. Chris Pronger (LTIR, concussion) is lost for the season. New Jersey is without defensemen Henrik Tallinder (IR, blood clot in his left leg) and Andy Greene (IR, foot) as well as forward Travis Zajac (IR, Achilles tendon).
After today, the Flyers are right back in action tomorrow afternoon, taking on the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
Hartnell - Giroux - Jagr
Talbot - Briere - Voracek
Read - Schenn - Simmonds
Zolniercyk - Couturier - Rinaldo
Timonen - Coburn
Carle - Bourdon
Gustafsson - Meszaros
Bryzgalov
[Bobrovsky]
DEVILS
Parise - Henrique - Kovalchuk
Sykora - Elias - Zubrus
Zalewski - Josefson - Clarkson
Boulton - Mills - Carter
Salvador - Fayne
Taormina - Larsson
Volchenkov - Foster
Brodeur
[Hedberg]
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