PREVIEW 1:30 AM EST
With only 20 games remaining in the 2013 regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers (12-15-1) need a dramatic and instant turnaround if they are to climb into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Coming off an ugly 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils (13-9-5) on Wednesday, the Flyers will get another crack at their nemesis tonight in the back half of the home-and-home set.
Tonight's game from the Wells Fargo Center starts at 7 p.m. EST. It will be televised locally on CSN Philly and nationally on NHL Network.
This is the fourth meeting between the teams this season, but the first in Philadelphia. New Jersey has won the first three games by a combined 13-5 score. After tonight's game, the Flyers won't see New Jersey again until the Devils come back to town on April 18.
The Devils, who enter this game having won seven straight games against the Flyers dating back to last year's playoffs, don't need to make any adjustments in their approach to playing Philly. Pretty much every button that Pete DeBoer has pushed in games against Philly has been the right one, and even some key injury absences have made no difference.
It is the Flyers who must adjust -- and do so by playing with discipline rather than the sort of reckless, self-destructive hockey that contributed to their demise in Wednesday's game. Of course, it would also be helpful if they could find a way to contain Ilya Kovalchuk (six points in the three games to date; 24 goals and 49 points in 48 career games against the Flyers) and Patrik Elias (five points in the three games; 35 goals and 80 points in 79 career games versus Philly.
Luke Schenn (flu) was sorely missed in Wednesday's game, as the Flyers were forced to dress seldom used Kurtis Foster in addition to struggling Bruno Gervais (who is also said to be dealing with the flu) in their starting defense lineup. Schenn is not be 100 percent yet and did not practice yesterday but could be available to play tonight.
For New Jersey, Martin Brodeur (back), Dainius Zubrus (broken left wrist) and Henrik Tallinder (lower body) remain out of the lineup.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
24 Matt Read - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Simon Gagne - 14 Sean Couturier - 48 Danny Briere
25 Max Talbot - 26 Ruslan Fedotenko - 36 Zac Rinaldo
44 Kimmo Timonen - 22 Luke Schenn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 5 Braydon Coburn
41 Andrej Meszaros - 27 Bruno Gervais
30 Ilya Bryzgalov
[49 Michael Leighton]
DEVILS
12 Alexei Ponikarovsky - 21 Andre Loktionov - 17 Ilya Kovalchuk
26 Patrik Elias - 14 Adam Henrique - 18 Steve Bernier
20 Ryan Carter - 19 Travis Zajac - 23 David Clarkson
22 Krys Barch - 11 Stephen Gionta - 25 Tom Kostopoulos
24 Bryce Salvador - 2 Marek Zidlicky
6 Andy Greene - 5 Adam Larsson
28 Anton Volchenkov - 10 Peter Harrold
1 Johan Hedberg
[31 Jeff Frazee]
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In tomorrow's blog, I'll finish out the "who is/isn't meeting expectations" series in addition to reviewing tonight's game in Newark.
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