Flyers-Devils: Game 54 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers continued their recent run of success by taking care of business against the last place team in the NHL with a 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. On Thursday night, they will get one more game against a team near the bottom of the standings before the battle against top teams in the league resumes.

The New Jersey Devils come to town on Thursday night, as the Flyers look for their third straight win and fifth in the last six games. The Flyers are also looking to extend a five-game points streak.

The Devils have a very different look since their last meeting against the Flyers in early November. They underwent a coaching change and traded away a top scorer. Additionally, they will be without forward Nico Hischier and defenseman Sami Vatanen for Thursday's game, leaving them shorthanded in the lineup.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	New Jersey Devils	GP	G	A	P
Sean Couturier	53	13	33	46	Kyle Palmieri	48	19	16	35
Travis Konecny	50	17	27	44	Nico Hischier	46	13	19	32
Jake Voracek	53	11	29	40	Nikita Gusev	49	9	22	31
Claude Giroux	53	13	22	35	Blake Coleman	52	19	10	29
Kevin Hayes	53	17	15	32	Sami Vatanen	47	6	19	25

Player to Watch
13 Kevin Hayes	21 Kyle Palmieri
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 3 A, 6 P, +5	Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, +1

Kevin Hayes hasn't just been scoring, but his goals have come in huge spots lately. Since Jan. 8, a span of 10 games, Hayes has five goals and eight points, including three shorthanded goals. That has moved Hayes into a tie for the team lead in goals.

Kyle Palmieri remains a constant in the Devils lineup, and he's had a lot of success against the Flyers in the past, posting 11 goals and 21 points in 21 career games. He scored two goals in his last game to tie for the team lead with 19 goals and has a team-leading 35 points.

Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	29 Mackenzie Blackwood
26 GP, 13-5-4, 2.81 GAA, .903 SV%	37 GP, 15-12-7, 3.00 GAA, .904 SV%

It wasn't a busy game for Brian Elliott, but he stopped all 16 shots that came his way to record his second shutout in the previous two weeks on Monday night against Detroit. Carter Hart is nearing a return, but with Elliott playing so well, there is no rush to put him back in net, so Elliott gets back in goal for the Flyers on Thursday.

Mackenzie Blackwood makes his first start in a week, his last coming on Jan. 30 in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators. Blackwood has just one win in his last five starts. He took the loss to the Flyers on Nov. 1 in a shootout, allowing three goals on 31 shots in regulation and the only goal of the shootout.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Joel Farabee (illness, day-to-day), Carter Hart (lower right abdominal, day-to-day), Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)

Scratches: Robert Hagg

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk	28 Claude Giroux	11 Travis Konecny
12 Michael Raffl	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton	13 Kevin Hayes	18 Tyler Pitlick
10 Andy Andreoff	82 Connor Bunnaman	62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim	5 Phil Myers
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	61 Justin Braun
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott	34 Alex Lyon

Lineup Notes

Shayne Gostisbehere makes his return to the lineup and Robert Hagg will come out of the lineup as a healthy scratch. Joel Farabee will not play due to illness, so the Flyers have called up Andy Andreoff from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to enter the lineup in his place.

Devils Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nico Hischier, Sami Vatanen

Scratches: Colton White

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
63 Jesper Bratt	86 Jack Hughes	21 Kyle Palmieri
20 Blake Coleman	19 Travis Zajac	97 Nikita Gusev
44 Miles Wood	37 Pavel Zacha	17 Wayne Simmonds
14 Joey Anderson	16 Kevin Rooney	15 John Hayden
Defense
6 Andy Greene	76 P.K. Subban
25 Mirco Mueller	28 Damon Severson
8 Will Butcher	5 Connor Carrick
Goalie
29 Mackenzie Blackwood	70 Louis Domingue

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (17th), Devils (27th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (14th), Devils (18th)
Recent History vs. Devils
- Oct. 9, 2019 – Flyers 4, Devils 0 (at PHI)
- Nov. 1, 2019 – Flyers 4, Devils 3 (F/SO) (at NJ)
Flyers Leaders vs. Devils
- Claude Giroux – 50 GP, 11 G, 35 A, 46 P
- James van Riemsdyk – 33 GP, 14 G, 10 A, 24 P
- Jake Voracek – 40 GP, 7 G, 22 A, 29 P
- Kevin Hayes – 19 GP, 6 G, 7 A, 13 P
- Brian Elliott – 11 GP, 6-5-0, 2.57 GAA, .898 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Jake Voracek will play in his 900th NHL game tonight.
- Ivan Provorov will play in his 300th NHL game tonight.
- Shayne Gostisbehere needs one point to reach 200 for his career.
- Claude Giroux needs three points to reach 800 for his career.