The New Jersey Devils are slated to end their preseason schedule Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Entering the game, New Jersey boasts a 3-2-1 record while Philadelphia sits at 2-4-0. Both teams will get their respective regular seasons underway Thursday, October 9.
Match Overview
Despite Saturday being the last game, Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers was the last we will see the team’s regulars before the season opener. That group defeated New York 3-1.
On Saturday, the Devils are icing a group made up of several projected key contributors for the Devils’ AHL affiliate Utica. The most notables are forward Shane Lachance and Lenni Hameenhao as well as defenseman Ethan Edwards. Jake Allen and Georgi Romanov are expected to be the goaltending tandem.
On the flip side, the Flyers have given up a ton of goals in preseason. The 21 goals they have allowed through six games is the fourth most in the league. It remains to be seen if Philadelphia will be rolling any regulars against the Devils. But, it has been a struggle for the Flyers no matter who they have rolled out throughout the preseason.
Lineups
Devils
Check back for the full lineup closer to game time, however, the below is how the group that is expected to play in the game skated on Friday.
Forward
Cotter – Glendening – Gritsyuk
Lachance – Rooney – Hameenaho
Hardman – Malone – Parent
Gruden – Melovsky – Legare
Defensemen
Cholowski – Addison
Edwards – Strand
Vilen – Diotte
Goalies
Allen
Romanov
Flyers
Check back to our social media pages closer to game time.
Game Notes
News Updates
On Friday, head coach Sheldon Keefe updated several notable happenings on his squad:
- Luke Hughes will not play against Philadelphia.
- Seamus Casey has been dealing with a nagging injury and has been shut down.
- Brett Pesce is skating, but continues to be evaluated. His availability for the opener is to be determined.
- Stefan Noesen, despite skating, is not close to playing.
- Juho Lammikko is out for the near future.
Additionally, on Saturday, the team announced they acquired forward Zack MacEwen in exchange for forward Kurtis MacDermid.
Duo Up Front
Although there are not any regulars playing on Saturday, eyes will be closely on two top-10 prospects within the team’s system. Both Shane Lachance and Lenni Hameenaho got late starts to camp due to injuries they sustained at the Prospect Challenge in Buffalo. They each made their professional preseason debuts in the split-squad game in Quebec City against Ottawa.
In that game, they played a decent bit together, specifically 8:07 of ice time. When on the ice together, they posted the following possession numbers in their team’s favor at five on five:
- 10-3 shot attempts
- 6-2 shots
- 3-1 scoring chances
- 65.47 expected goals-for percentage
That duo will likely be on a line together once again Saturday.
Where To Watch
Saturday’s preseason finale is in Philadelphia is set for a 12:30 pm ET puck drop. It will be streamed on NBC Sports plus locally in Philadelphia.