FLYERS VS. DEVILS GAME PREVIEW (7:30 A.M. EST)
Needing a win to potentially move back into second place in the Metropolitan Division, the Philadelphia Flyers (33-24-7) are at home tonight to take on the New Jersey Devils (28-24-13). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. EST. The match will be televised locally on CSN Philadelphia.
This is the fourth and final meeting of the season series between the teams this season, and the second game in Philadelphia. The road team has won each of the first three games thus far.
On Nov. 2, one night after Philly suffered a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Washington Capitals, the Flyers went to Newark and held the Devils to 14 shots in a 1-0 win. The following week, the Devils came to the Wells Fargo Center and returned the favor in a 3-0 shutout. After the game, a win-starved and goal-starved Flyers team held a closed-door meeting.
Since that time, the Flyers have had one of the best records in the NHL (29-14-6). On Jan. 7, in the final game of a six-game road trip that saw the Flyers take 10 of 12 possible points, Philadelphia left the Prudential Center with a 3-2 overtime victory.
After tonight's game, the Flyers will not play again until Saturday afternoon. They will begin a consecutive-day home-and-home set with the Eastern Conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins. That will be the beginning of an extremely busy slate of games against top-end opposition.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers are 3-1-1 after the Olympic break and 8-2-1 over their last 11 games. After the team started the season by going 1-7-0 through the first eight games and 4-10-1 through the first 15, the club has posted a 32-17-7 record over its last 55 matches.
Offense has not been a problem for the Flyers since their early-season struggles. Through the first 15 games of the season, the Flyers scored just 22 goals (1.47 per game). Since that time, Philly has tallied 161 goals in 49 games (3.29 per game).
One of the less-discussed aspects of the Flyers' scoring depth has been the goal scoring contributions of the team's defensemen. To date, the Flyers' defense corps has combined to chip in 29 goals this season.
The Flyers are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Toronto on Saturday. All three of the Philadelphia goals came from defensemen, as Kimmo Timonen tallied a pair of goals and Braydon Coburn forced overtime as Philadelphia recovered from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2.
On the flip side, the Flyers' teamwide defensive play has been subpar since the Olympic break after seemingly coming together in the games leading up to the break. The Flyers have yielded 21 goals in the five game since the break. That is an unsustainable pace for a team that expects to be a playoff club.
Ever since the Olympic break, the Flyers have been prone to one bad period per game. They have had an issue with crooked-number goal against periods in which they get significantly outplayed. They've had at least one such period in every game.
Much of the damage came in a 5 GA second period against San Jose in the first game after the break. Since then, the Flyers have yielded a 2 GA second period against the Rangers, a 2 GA periods against the Caps in the front end of the home-and-home, a 3 GA third period in the return match last Wednesday and a 2 GA first period in Toronto.
The Devils often give the Flyers trouble. They have a lot of big forwards who are good at winning battles on the walls and cycling the puck, and do not give up much real estate for opposing teams to carry the puck into the offensive zone. Coming off relatively wide-open games against the Capitals and Maple Leafs, the Flyers must play a more patient and disciplined game against New Jersey.
On the injury front, backup goaltender Ray Emery (groin) remains day-to-day. He practiced yesterday but will not dress for tonight's match. Cal Heeter will continue to back up Steve Mason. Additionally, forward Steve Downie (flu) will return to the lineup tonight after missing Saturday's game at the Air Canada Centre.
DEVILS OUTLOOK
New Jersey may rank in the bottom one-third of the NHL offensively (23rd overall) but they are still hanging around the outer perimeter of the playoff bubble. The Devils rank in the top one-third of the NHL (10th overall) in fewest goals allowed, which has been the historical lifeline of this franchise.
In their last game, however, the Devils did not follow the path that usually leads to victory. They scored enough to build a 4-1 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes by the middle stages of the game but subsequently squandered the advantage. A third period goal by former Carolina forward Tuomo Ruutu rescued a 5-4 win over the Hurricanes on Saturday night. The Devils also got two goals from Adam Henrique (one at even strength and one shorthanded) as well as tallies from Damien Brunner (power play) and Travis Zajac.
A pair of ancient Czechs -- Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias -- each contributed assists in the victory over the Canes.
The newest member of the NHL's exclusive 700-goal club, Jaromir Jagr, leads the Devils in scoring this season with 20 goals and 55 points in 65 games. The 42-year-old former Flyers right winger has points in three straight games and four of the last five. In 89 career regular season games against Philly, Jagr has a mere 41 goals (16 power play), 68 assists and 109 points.
Meanwhile, countryman and fellow longtime Flyer-killer Patrik Elias has points in five straight games (two goals, four assists). Healthy again after missing time with injuries this season, the soon-to-be 38-year-old has 14 goals and 42 points in 50 games. For his career, Elias has racked up 35 goals (10 power play), 45 assists and 80 points in 81 regular season games against the Flyers.
Despite the team's problems scoring at even strength, the Devils rank seventh in the NHL in power play efficiency. Jagr is a big reason for this, especially with his ability to control the puck powering in from the right side.
The Devils penalty kill is stellar, ranking second in the NHL. The Devils usually rank near the top of the NHL in fewest times playing shorthanded per season. They are not near the top this time (ranking 11th with 206 times shorthanded) but only Pittsburgh has allowed fewer than the 28 power play goals opposing teams have scored against the Devils this season.
Additionally, New Jersey has scored seven shorthanded goals this season. That bears watching for a Flyers team that has yielded 10 to date this season.
KEY STAT COMPARISONS (NHL OVERALL RANKING)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.81 (11th), Devils 2.48 (23rd)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.86 (21st), Devils 2.45 (10th)
Even strength Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 0.96 (17th), Devils 0.90 (21st)
Power play efficiency: Flyers 19.9% (12th), Devils 20.8% (7th)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 83.5% (10th), Devils 86.4% (2nd)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 49.5% (19th), Devils 46.3% (29th)
PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change)
FLYERS
19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
40 Vincent Lecavalier - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds
9 Steve Downie - 14 Sean Couturier - 24 Matt Read
76 Chris VandeVelde - 12 Michael Raffl - 18 Adam Hall
44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 32 Mark Streit
47 Andrew MacDonald - 22 Luke Schenn
35 Steve Mason
[33 Cal Heeter]
Potential Scratches: Ray Emery (groin), Zac Rinaldo (upper body), Erik Gustafsson (healthy), Jay Rosehill (healthy), Hal Gill (healthy), Chris Pronger (LTIR, post-concussion syndrome).
DEVILS
15 - Tuomo Ruutu 19 - Travis Zajac 68 - Jaromir Jagr
8 - Dainius Zubrus 26 - Patrik Elias 12 - Damien Brunner
29 - Ryane Clowe 14 - Adam Henrique 17 - Michael Ryder
20 - Ryan Carter 11 - Stephen Gionta 18 - Steve Bernier
7 Mark Fayne - 6 Andy Greene
24 Bryce Salvador - 2 Marek Zidlicky
23 Jon Merrill - 28 Anton Volchenkov
30 Martin Brodeur
[35 Cory Schneider]
Potential Scratches: Peter Harrold (healthy), Eric Gelinas (healthy), Jacob Josefson (healthy).
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