Matchup Overview

After Tuesday’s game against Winnipeg was postponed, the Devils return to the ice tonight as they host the Philadelphia Flyers. New Jersey is looking to snap a ten-game winless streak, while the Flyers are in the second-half of a back-to-back having defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 last night. New Jersey will have fresh legs after the extra time off, so look for them to come out aggressively in the early minutes of the game.

Projected Lines

Philadelphia

Schenn/Giroux/Simmonds
Konecny/Filppula/Voracek
Cousins/Couturier/Read
VandeVelde/Bellemare/Lyubimov

Provorov/MacDonald
Del Zotto/Gudas
Schultz/Gostisbehere

Neuvirth

New Jersey

Hall/Zajac/Palmieri
Blandisi/Henrique/Bennett
Zacha/Quenneville/Noesen
Coleman/Pietila/Wood

Greene/Lovejoy
Merrill/Santini
Moore/Severson

Kinkaid

What to Watch

• John Quenneville was called up from Albany yesterday and will be in the lineup tonight for the New Jersey Devils. He has 12-29-41 in 53 games played this season and is Albany’s leading scorer at the moment. As you may recall, he had a brief two-game stint earlier this season with the NHL club when Taylor Hall was recovering from knee surgery. With the Devils season all but over, I’d expect Quenneville to stick around for the remainder of the season before heading back to Albany for their playoff run. He gives them another skill player and with the season nearing its end, the Devils need to put emphasis on developing their younger players.

• Sticking with the theme of New Jersey’s young players, a number of their prospects will take to the ice tonight. For players such as Blandisi, Coleman, and Pietila, these final fourteen games are an opportunity to show they belong in the NHL. For players like Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha, it’s a chance for them to build on what they’ve done in their first NHL seasons. Whatever they’re able to take away from the final stretch of games will help their development in the long run. For those who are eligible to return, they can take what they’ve learned and help Albany make a run at the Calder Cup.

• The Devils had trouble scoring goals all season, especially during this ten-game stretch. The Flyers come into tonight’s matchup with the fourth-worst team save percentage (.913) at even strength. The Devils may have a young, inexperienced squad, but it’ll be important for them to get as many pucks on net against Neuvirth as possible, who has just a .888 save percentage on the season. If New Jersey can get shots on net early on and a couple of early goals, they could make things difficult for a tired Flyers squad.

Tonight’s game can been seen on MSG+ at 7PM.