Match Overview
Tonight’s game will feature your New Jersey Devils, who currently own a 3-2-1 record which puts them fifth in the East Division. As well as the Philadelphia Flyers, who own a 4-2-1 record which puts them third in the East Division.
Tonight’s game will be at the Prudential Center and is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils need to respond after a sloppy performance against the Flyers on Tuesday. After coming back to knot the game at two, turnovers and other costly mistakes proved too much as the Devils suffered the team’s third loss of the season. Tonight, they’ll need to improve on the penalty kill and hope Scott Wedgewood responds after a lackluster performance.
As for personnel, Scott Wedgewood is scheduled to make his fourth consecutive start. Meanwhile, forward Jesper Bratt is slated to make his long awaited return to the lineup. It’ll be interesting to see if the Devils limit him in any way. The defensive core will remain the same, meaning Will Butcher and Connor Carrick will once again be healthy scratches.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers may be the only team luckier in the NHL this season than the Devils. Entering Tuesday’s game, the Flyers had the worst possession statistics at even strength in the NHL. The team also currently ranks 30th on the penally kill. The strongest aspect of the team’s play has been their power play, which totaled two goals against the Devils on Tuesday.
The Flyers will go to Carter Hart who has struggled mightily this season. Despite the 2-2-1 record, Hart has a miserable .880 save percentage and 4.18 goals against average. Hopefully, the talented netminder does not figure it out against the Devils tonight.
Projected Devils Lines
Forwards:
Given the return of Jesper Bratt, we will not know combinations until warmups.
Defensemen:
- Murray/Subban
- Kulikov/Severson
- Smith/Tennyson
Goalies:
- Wedgewood (1-2-0, .914 Sv%, 2.70 GAA)
- Comrie
Projected Flyers Lines
Forwards:
- van Reimsdyk/Hayes/Voracek
- Lindblom/Laughton/Farabee
- Giroux/Patrick/Konecny
- Raffl/Bunnaman/Aube-Kubel
Defense:
- Provorov/Gostisbehere
- Sanheim/Friedman
- Hagg/Braun
Goalies:
- Hart (2-2-1, .880 Sv%, 4.18 GAA)
- Elliot
What/Who to Watch
- The New Jersey Devils actually controlled the shot attempts at even strength (56.52 Corsi For %) on Tuesday. However, while doing so, the team did not generate many dangerous chances. The Flyers held the High Danger Corsi For (HDCF) edge 13-7. Against a goalie such as Carter Hart, despite his struggles, it is vital New Jersey generates more high danger opportunities. The Flyers are a team susceptible to giving them up. As the team’s Expected Goals Against per 60 (xGA/60) is 7th highest and the team owns the 11th-highest HDCF% rating. Quantity is nice, but quality proves to be more important.
- The Philadelphia Flyer’s best line in Tuesday’s game was the trio of Claude Giroux, Nolan Patrick, and Travis Konecny. They combined for a goal and team-best 68.75 xGF% ratio. On Tuesday, P.K. Subban and Ryan Murray struggled against this trio, while whenever Damon Severson and Dmitry Kulikov were out against them, they kept that unit in check. Head Coach Lindy Ruff should make sure he gets his team’s best pairing — Severson and Kulikov — whenever the above trio is on the ice.
- The blue print this season to be the Philadelphia Flyers is pretty simple: stay out of the penalty box. As is mentioned above, the Flyers have struggled in almost every facet of the game — especially at five-on-five. The Flyers’ 7th-ranked power play is the only area the team has excelled. And, as the Devils found out the hard way, they did not stay out of the box and paid dearly. If New Jersey can play this game either on the power play or five-on-five they should have a path to victory. Simply put, New Jersey must stay out of the box.
- The New Jersey Devils’ defensive core is expected to remain the same tonight which is, to be blunt, frustrating. The bottom-pairing of Ty Smith and Matt Tennyson have struggled all year, posting a CF% of 40.00 and xGF% of 32.11 in 55:25 of ice time at even strength. These figures rank 57th and 60th of 60 qualified NHL pairings. The duo even more glaringly struggled in Tuesday’s game as Smith has a brutal turnover leading to a Flyers’ goal.
Note, all possession statistics courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com.
Tonight’s game can be seen on MSG+ at 7:00 PM.