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The New Jersey Devils (28-18-6) host the Philadelphia Flyers (23-22-6) on Wednesday night to complete a home-and-home. The Flyers picked up a 4-2 win in Philadelphia on Monday and have won both head-to-head matchups this season.
Match Overview
The Devils did not hold a practice on Tuesday, so there have been no new updates on either Nico Hischier or Nathan Bastian. Hischier was injured in Montreal on Saturday and Bastian left Monday’s loss to Philadelphia after a hit from Nick Seeler. Check out our social channels for the latest updates from Wednesday’s morning skate.
Meanwhile, Jake Allen figures to once again get the start with Jacob Markstrom remaining out. On the season, Allen owns a .901 save percentage and a 3.46 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
As for Philadelphia, Travis Konecny leads the team in goals, assists, and points. He has one goal and two assists in two games against the Devils this season. Bobby Brink has also netted a power play goal in each contest.
In net, expect to see Sam Ersson once again. Despite struggling this season with a .893 save percentage and a -8.67 GSAx, the 25-year-old Swede has been tremendous against New Jersey. In his two wins, Ersson has stopped 43 of 46 shots faced while turning aside 1.80 goals above expected.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
With both Nico Hischier and Nathan Bastian potentially absent from Wednesday’s game, check our social channels for updated line combinations closer to puck drop.
Defensemen
Dillon – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
Hughes – Pesce
Goaltenders
Allen
Poulter
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards
Tippett – Frost – Konecny
Farabee – Laughton – Michkov
Foerster – Cates – Brink
Richard – Abols – Hathaway
Defensemen
Sanheim – Drysdale
York – Ristolainen
Seeler – Johnson
Goaltenders
Ersson
Fedotov
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What To Watch For
Chance Creation
Goal scoring has been an issue for the last month or so for New Jersey. The Devils sit just 13th in the league in goals scored with 3.06 goals per game. However, in many of those contests, you could point to poor finishing squandering many good, if not great, opportunities.
That has been far from the case against Philadelphia, though.
In the two losses, the Devils have generated just 0.56 and 0.85 expected goals at five-on-five to go with one high-danger chance in each contest. That is simply not an acceptable level of chance creation to win a hockey game.
The Devils may still have finishing issues, but they need to do a much better job of creating chances on Wednesday.
Special Teams
As much as New Jersey has failed to create anything, the Devils’ special teams have gotten dominated in the two losses to Philadelphia.
For the season, New Jersey has been excellent on special teams. The Devils’ power play ranks second in the NHL at 28.1% while the penalty kill is fifth at 82.1%. On the flip side, Philadelphia is just 28th on the power play (16.4%) and 19th on the penalty kill (78.5%)
However, over the two head-to-head matchups, New Jersey is 0-for-5 on the power play while Philadelphia is 2-for-4. In fact, head coach Sheldon Keefe called the Devils’ failed four-minute power play in the first period on Monday the, “worst of the season,” per Amanda Stein.
With the Devils struggling to create at five-on-five and getting outplayed on special teams, it’s no surprise the Flyers have taken the first two meetings.
Hughes, Pesce Pairing
Monday night was a disappointing night for Brett Pesce. He and Luke Hughes struggled as a pairing through the first two periods and were split up when head coach Sheldon Keefe jumbled the lines in the third period. Pesce finished the game with a 17.75 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%), the lowest among Devils’ defensemen.
Unfortunately, this has become a bit of a trend for the duo. Dating back to the Christmas Break, a stretch of 15 games, the Hughes and Pesce pairing has a 44.72 xGF% together in over 233 minutes at five-on-five, the lowest among the three Devils’ defensive pairs. They have had a slightly positive share of scoring chances at 117-107, but are negative in high-dangers at 44-41.
Going into Wednesday’s game, it will be interesting to see if Sheldon Keefe reunites the two, or if he tries to find a spark with new pairings.
Where To Watch
Wednesday’s game is a TNT exclusive with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.