(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor
The Flyers snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday with a commanding 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. But after a quick two-game stop at home, they head back out on the road for a quick stop against the New Jersey Devils.
The win on Wednesday doesn't do much for the Flyers playoff hopes other than help them keep pace with the others. The margin remains at five points, which is still an uphill battle with just 13 games to go.
The opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.
Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Devils Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
Jake Voracek | 69 | 17 | 37 | 54 | Kyle Palmieri | 66 | 22 | 22 | 44 |
Claude Giroux | 69 | 14 | 36 | 50 | Taylor Hall | 58 | 15 | 29 | 44 |
Wayne Simmonds | 69 | 29 | 18 | 47 | Travis Zajac | 66 | 13 | 26 | 39 |
Brayden Schenn | 66 | 20 | 25 | 45 | Adam Henrique | 68 | 16 | 18 | 34 |
Valtteri Filppula | 66 | 8 | 28 | 36 | Michael Cammalleri | 55 | 10 | 20 | 30 |
Player to Watch* | |
28 Claude Giroux | 21 Kyle Palmieri |
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 3 A, 5 P, +2 | Last 5 Games: 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, +1 |
Goalie Matchup | |
35 Steve Mason | 1 Keith Kinkaid |
20-19-7, 2.71 GAA, .907 SV% | 6-9-2, 2.67 GAA, .917 SV% |
After a relatively easy shutout win over the Penguins on Wednesday, the Flyers go back to Steve Mason again for the second half of the team's back-to-back.
Even with the Devils not playing for five days — the winter weather postponed their Tuesday game against Winnipeg — it is backup Keith Kinkaid getting the call in Thursday's game.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Nick Cousins (upper-body injury, day-to-day), Jordan Weal (day-to-day, lower-body injury), Brandon Manning (upper-body injury, day-to-day), Michael Raffl (lower-body injury, out 6-8 weeks)
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
10 Brayden Schenn | 28 Claude Giroux | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
11 Travis Konecny | 51 Valtteri Filppula | 93 Jake Voracek |
24 Matt Read | 14 Sean Couturier | 22 Dale Weise |
76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 13 Roman Lyubimov |
Defense | ||
9 Ivan Provorov | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 55 Nick Schultz | |
15 Michael Del Zotto | 3 Radko Gudas | |
Goalie | ||
35 Steve Mason |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-11th, 12th on road), Devils (20th, 11th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (23rd, T-25th on road), Devils (19th, 30th at home)
- Recent History vs. Devils
- Jan. 21, 2017 - The Flyers lost to the Devils, 4-1, on home ice. Pavel Zacha opened the scoring just over seven minutes into the first period, but the Flyers answered with a goal by Travis Konecny to force a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes. That score remained into the late stages of the second, when a penalty on Radko Gudas and ensuing arguing from Wayne Simmonds gave the Devils a 5-on-3. They capitalized with a goal by Kyle Palmieri. With under a minute to play in the second, Miles Wood scored to make it a two-goal game. Wood scored again just over four minutes into the third to seal the Flyers fate.
- Dec. 22, 2016 – The Flyers suffered a 4-0 defeat to the Devils in New Jersey. Goals by P.A. Parenteau, Miles Wood, Adam Henrique and Kyle Palmieri carried the Devils, who held the Flyers to just 16 shots in the loss.
- Flyers leaders vs. Devils
- Claude Giroux - 37 games, 9 goals, 25 assists, 34 points
- Shayne Gostisbehere - 5 games, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points
- Wayne Simmonds - 29 games, 10 goals, 7 assists, 17 points
- Steve Mason - 10 games, 0-8-0, 3.77 GAA, .854 Sv%
- Milestone Watch
- Matt Read needs one assist to reach 100 in his career.
- Claude Giroux needs two goals to move into 15th all-time in Flyers history.
- Wayne Simmonds needs two points to reach 300 as a Flyer.
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic