PREVIEW (8 AM)
The Philadelphia Flyers need to solve their offensive woes in a hurry as they take on the Atlantic Division leading New Jersey Devils tonight at the Wachovia Center in the front end of a home-and-home set. Neither club has been playing particularly well of late. The Devils are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, while the Flyers are 5-5-0 and have tallied a grand total of one goal in their last two games.
Ilya Kovalchuk had two points in his New Jersey debut against Toronto, as the Devils staged a late-game three goal rally to pull out a win. But the Devils stumbled again on Saturday in a lackluster 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers. Longtime Flyer killer Patrik Elias has returned to the lineup from a concussion, joining Kovalchuk and ex-Flyer Dainius Zubrus on the top line. Meanwhile, the deadly Zach Parise has gone pointless in his last three games after exploding for two goals and six points in his two previous games.
The Flyers canceled practice yesterday, so it is not known as of this writing rather Ray Emery (hip) will be ready to go in goal tonight or how Peter Laviolette will arrange his lines. Changes in the lineup seem likely. There have been indications that newly acquired Ville Leino may replace Darroll Powe on the left wing of the Jeff Carter line. It is not known as of this writing whom Laviolette is leaning toward scratching from the lineup.
Regardless of the lineup combination, it's absolutely crucial for the Flyers to grab an early lead and play from ahead. As noted in today's
Versus.com preview and on HockeyBuzz yesterday, the Flyers have a 2-9-0 record when trailing after the first period and a 1-16-0 record when trailing after two periods. On the flip side, New Jersey is 18-1-0 when leading after the first period and 24-1-0 when leading after two periods.
****
Yesterday's Capitals-Penguins game was one of the most electrifying tilts of the season. The performance of Alexander Ovechkin in particular was nothing short of breath-taking. Too bad the game was so poorly officiated.
Today's
Daily Drop at Versus.com looks both at yesterday's game and the bigger issue of the way games are called late in regulation and overtime. Late-game penalty calls have become rather predictable in recent years, as the Flyers could readily attest.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»