Introduction
Tonight, the New Jersey Devils will look to bounce back from a 4-2 loss in Nashville. They look to do so against their neighbors from the city of brotherly love. The Devils come into this one with only one win in their last six games. However, the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t exactly coming into town red hot either, losing each of their past five games and only winning one of their past seven. This is the Devils first of three games against the Flyers, all of which will take place in the next three weeks.
Projected Lineups
New Jersey Devils’
Forwards
Zacha – Hischier – Vesey
Johnsson – Mercer – Bratt
Kuokkanen – Sharangovich – Tatar
Geertsen – McLeod – Bastian
Defensemen
Graves – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Subban
Smith – Severson
Goalies
Blackwood
Bernier
Philadelphia Flyers’
Forwards
Giroux – Couturier – Konecny
Farabee – Frost – Atkinson
Lindblom – Laughton – Van Riemsdyk
Bunnaman – Thompson – Macewen
Defensemen
Provorov – Braun
Sanheim – Ristolainen
Yandle – Seeler
Goalies
Jones
Hart
Pregame Notes
- Michael Mcleod hasn’t scored a goal yet this season. On face value, this isn’t the most surprising occurrence, as he is the team’s fourth line center. However, he’s been getting a lot of ice time due to the absence of Jack Hughes and McLeod was able to scored nine goals in 52 games last season, so what’s up? Well, his expected goals are 2.1, so luck is definitely a part of it. It’ll be interesting to see if getting his partner in crime back, Nathan Bastian, will help at all.
- With Jack Hughes returning to practice in a regular jersey yesterday, his return to the lineup is certainly near. So, what could the lines look like when he returns? Well, one issue is he and Hischier need good wingers, without breaking up the “MB&J line” (Mercer, Johnsson, and Bratt). Unfortunately, one of those things is going to have to happen, here’s a rough draft of what it can possibly look like: Zacha – Hischier – Bratt, Sharangovich – Hughes – Tatar, Kuokkanen – Mercer – Johnsson, and Vesey – McLeod – Bastian.
All statistics are via. Moneypuck. Line combos are via dailyfaceoff.