(Photo: Kate Frese)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Thursday night was just another example of the Flyers struggles on full display. The road to finding the consistency needed to succeed doesn't get any easier with another Metropolitan Division opponent.
The New Jersey Devils started the season with wins in four straight games before a 5-3 loss to Colorado on Thursday. The eight points is good for second in the division in the young season. Between the reigning Hart Trophy winner, the 2017 NHL Draft first-overall pick and a veteran player off to a roaring start, the Flyers are in for a challenge.
Game time is set for 1 p.m.
Team Leaders
| Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | New Jersey Devils | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | Kyle Palmieri | 5 | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| Jake Voracek | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | Taylor Hall | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | Nico Hischier | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Robert Hagg | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | Damon Severson | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Radko Gudas | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | Jean-Sebastian Dea | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 11 Travis Konecny | 21 Kyle Palmieri |
| Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, -1 | Last 5 Games: 7 G, 1 A, 8 P, +2 |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 37 Brian Elliott | 1 Keith Kinkaid |
| 1-3-0, 4.04 GAA, .874 SV% | 4-1-0, 1.61 GAA, .941 SV% |
After getting Thursday night off, Brian Elliott returns between the pipes for the Flyers looking for a bounce-back performance. Elliott was pulled in the third period of Tuesday's shootout win for the Flyers and still has just one win on the season, the season opener in Vegas.
With Cory Schneider on the shelf, Keith Kinkaid has been the starter in all five games so far for New Jersey and figures to be back in the lineup on Saturday in goal.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: James van Riemsdyk, Michal Neuvirth
Scratches: Mikhail Vorobyev, Corban Knight, Andrew MacDonald
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 28 Claude Giroux | 14 Sean Couturier | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 23 Oskar Lindblom | 40 Jordan Weal | 11 Travis Konecny |
| 21 Scott Laughton | 19 Nolan Patrick | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 15 Jori Lehtera | 22 Dale Weise |
| Defense | ||
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
| 8 Robert Hagg | 26 Christian Folin | |
| 6 Travis Sanheim | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| Goalie | ||
| 37 Brian Elliott |
Lineup Notes
Nolan Patrick returns to the lineup after missing the last three games with an upper-body injury. Instead of returning to the second line, he will center a new-look third line that features Jake Voracek and Scott Laughton back on the left wing. Michael Raffl returns to the fourth line. Wayne Simmonds was elevated to the first line.
Devils Projected Lineup
Injuries: Travis Zajac, Ben Lovejoy, Jesper Bratt, Cory Schneider
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 9 Taylor Hall | 13 Nico Hischier | 21 Kyle Palmieri |
| 90 Marcus Johansson | 10 Jean-Sebastian Dea | 23 Stefan Noesen |
| 44 Miles Wood | 37 Pavel Zacha | 20 Blake Coleman |
| 11 Brian Boyle | 58 Kevin Rooney | 18 Drew Stafford |
| Defense | ||
| 25 Mirco Mueller | 45 Sami Vatanen | |
| 6 Andy Greene | 28 Damon Severson | |
| 8 Will Butcher | 16 Steven Santisi | |
| Goalie | ||
| 1 Keith Kinkaid |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (17th), Devils (13th)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (21st), Devils (4th)
- Recent History vs. Devils
- Jan. 13, 2018 – Flyers 5, Devils 3 (at NJ)
- Jan. 20, 2018 – Flyers 3, Devils 1 (at PHI)
- Feb. 1, 2018 – Devils 4, Flyers 3 (at NJ)
- Feb. 13, 2018 – Devils 5, Flyers 4 F/SO (at PHI)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Devils
- Claude Giroux – 44 GP, 11 G, 31 A, 42 P
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 11 GP, 3 G, 6 A, 9 P
- Jake Voracek – 34 GP, 6 G, 16 A, 22 P
- Brian Elliott – 9 GP, 5-4-0, 2.69 GAA, .894 SV%
- Milestone Watch
- Jake Voracek needs two assists to pass John LeClair for 12th all-time in Flyers history.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
