After being dominated by the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center, the Philadelphia Flyers are back on the ice tonight. Finishing their second back-to-back of this week, they face the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J., at 7:00pm.
This is the fourth and final meeting between both teams this season. The season series is currently tied, 2-2. In their most recent matchup on December 15, Carter Hart led the Flyers to a 2-1 victory after making 48 saves.
Against the Canadiens last night, the Flyers were dominated in all aspects of the game. Self-destruction on defense caused Hart to struggle and it showed on the scoreboard. Taking on the NHL’s third-best team points-wise tonight, the Flyers will need to answer fast from last night’s efforts. If not, the Devils will take advantage.
“I don’t think anybody was lazy, it’s the only way I know how to put it; sometimes guys just play hard, and some guys play hard. I think we had a deficiency tonight. I don’t think we were all there. I’m hoping we answer the proper way, [or] we’ll get it fed to us tomorrow.”
New Jersey Devils (38-15-5)
The Devils are hunting down the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. Just six points behind, the Devils will be looking to add more power and skill as the trade deadline approaches. In their last 10 games, they are 7-2-1.
Dawson Mercer (18G, 20A) has been on a heater. In his last five games, he has nine points (7G, 2A). While Jack Hughes takes up a lot of the spotlight in New Jersey, Mercer has been producing in a top-six role in his second NHL season.
On the blue line, Dougie Hamilton (16G, 40A) has been one of the league’s best defensemen in 2022-2023. Scoring at a near point-per-game pace, Hamilton has solidified himself as a top player in the Devils’ young core. Along with talented defense prospects in their system, the Devils’ blue line looks powerful for years to come.
Projected lineup for the Devils:
Tatar-Hischier-Mercer
Sharangovich-Hughes-Bratt
Palat-Haula-Boqvist
Wood-McLeod-Zetterlund
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Graves-Marino
Bahl-Severson
Vanecek
(Schmid)
Philadelphia Flyers (23-27-10)
After missing the previous two games due to injury, Travis Konecny will now miss more time. Konecny was placed on the injured reserve this morning and Elliot Desnoyers has been called up from Lehigh Valley to fill in the gap. Desnoyers will make his NHL debut tonight, wearing #73.
Hart started last night, which means Samuel Ersson will get the call between the pipes today. Ersson (6-0-0) will look to remain undefeated in the NHL. He started against the Calgary Flames on Monday, making 32 saves.
Owen Tippett will look to remain hot in New Jersey. He’s scored in his last two games and was one of the sole bright spots in Philadelphia’s loss to Montreal on Friday.
Projected lineup for the Flyers:
Hayes-Laughton-Allison
van Riemsdyk-Frost-Tippett
Lycksell-Cates-Farabee
Deslauriers-Brown-Desnoyers
Provorov-Sanheim
York-Ristolainen
Seeler-DeAngelo
Ersson
(Hart)
Place Your Bets
Philadelphia Flyers moneyline (+240)
New Jersey Devils moneyline (-310)
Dawson Mercer anytime goalscorer (+225)
Owen Tippett anytime goalscorer (+240)
Game Information
You can watch the Flyers take on the Devils on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The radio broadcast will be available on 93.3 WMMR and Flyers Radio 24/7. The puck drops at 7:00pm at the Prudential Center.
Flyers vs Devils betting offers
Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP
