PREVIEW

The Flyers (33-17-10) will welcome Danny Briere back to the lineup today as they head to New Jersey to take on the Devils (40-19-3) in a game that's critical to Philly's hopes of making a run at the Atlantic Division championship. Depending on whether the game is decided in regulation or overtime, the Flyers could pull to within five points of New Jersey (with two games in hand) or fall behind by as much as nine points.

New Jersey is a team that rarely beats itself with sloppy defensive mistakes. Brent Sutter's club makes opponents earn everything they get. With Martin Brodeur back in the lineup, the task becomes even tougher for New Jersey opponents, although the Devils got strong goaltending in his absence.

Unlike many Devils teams of the past, these Devils aren't automatically in trouble if they have to chase the game. New Jersey has given up the game's first goal 24 times this season, and has come away with points in half of the games (eight wins, one OT loss, two shootout losses). The Devils have also mounted six successful third-period comebacks when trailing after the second period.

Meanwhile, the Devils are an exceptionally difficult team against whom to grab an early advantage. They've given up just 38 first-period goals (13 fewer than the Flyers) and scored 52 (just one fewer than Philly). New Jersey is almost automatic when they score first. The Devils have a 29-3-2 record when scoring first, and you can pretty much forget about waging a third-period comeback if the Devils hold the lead after two periods. New Jersey sports a staggering 28-0-1 record when they go the lockerroom with the lead after 40 minutes of play.

Of late, the Flyers' have been more dangerous offensively when shorthanded or at even strength than when they are on the powerplay. It's been a complete role reversal from the first half of the season. Coming off a costly 0-for-8 performance against Montreal, the Flyers will need to capitalize on their chances against a team that has been fairly average (13th overall in the NHL, 26th at home) on the penalty kill. New Jersey ranks 12th in the NHL on the powerplay.

The Flyers have not yielded a shorthanded goal against all season, but there have been a lot of close calls lately, with Flyers' keepers being forced to stop breakaways. Today's game will pit the NHL's two top shorthanded scoring teams against one another.

Everyone knows that Philly leads the NHL with 16 shorties (including seven for Mike Richards and four apiece by Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter). But the Devils rank second with 10, and have gotten goals from seven different players. The Flyers absolutely cannot afford to turn over pucks or get caught on bad line changes. New Jersey has allowed three shorthanded goals against this season.

Flyers player to watch: All eyes will be on Danny Briere in his return to the lineup. From my point of view, though, the man who is really on the spot today is Martin Biron. The Flyers' goalie has an opportunity to make a statement that he's deserving of being the go-to guy again come playoff time. Marty has squandered some of the opportunities in high-profile games this season. For the Flyers to win today, Biron cannot allow any soft goals.

Devils player to watch: New Jersey is loaded with players who routinely torture the Flyers. Patrik Elias has been doing it the longest (24 goals, 54 points in 57 regular season games against the Flyers). But leading scorer Zach Parise (13 goals, 27 points in 27 games)
is New Jersey's most dangerous player right now. Meanwhile, Dainius Zubrus is yet another one of the ex-Flyers (10 goals, 24 points in 37 games) who seems to produce more against Philly than against the rest of the NHL.


Potential starting lineups (subject to change)

Flyers

Gagne - Richards - Knuble
Hartnell - Carter - Lupul
Upshall - Briere - Powe
Cote - Ross - Asham

Coburn - Carle
Parent - Jones
Alberts - Guenin

Biron
[Niittymaki]


Devils

Parise - Zajac - Langenbrunner
Elias - Zubrus - Gionta
Clarkson - Rolston - Shanahan
Pandolfo - Madden - Holik

Oduya - Martin
Salvador - Greene
Mottau - White

Brodeur
[Weekes]

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