|
Flyers Gameday 2/13/16 vs. NJ |
|
|
|
|
|
PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. DEVILS
Starting a weekend back-to-back set of crucial divisional games, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (24-20-9) play host to John Hynes' New Jersey Devils (27-21-7) on Saturday afternoon. Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 p.m. The game will be televised on CSN Philadelphia
This is the third of four meetings between the teams this season and the second and final game in Philadelphia. The season series concludes in Newark on Tuesday. Thus far, the Flyers are 1-1-0 against the Devils.
On Oct. 29 in Philadelphia, the Devils ouplayed the Flyers but trailed 1-0 until the latter stages of the second period. Eventually, the Flyers' inability to stay out of the penalty box cost them and the Devils went on score two power play goals and an empty netter to win 4-1. On Dec. 4 in Newark, the Flyers saw a one-goal slip away in the final minute of regulation but struck back to win in overtime, 4-3.
For the second straight week, the Flyers are in the midst of a grueling four-in-six, three-in-four, back-to-back match scheduling pattern. On Thursday, the Flyers hosted the Buffalo Sabres. After this gaem, the Flyers travel to Manhattan on Sunday to take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. After a complete off-day on Monday, the Flyers have a return match in Newark against the Devils.
By comparison, the Devils have had more chance to rest from their own most recent four-in-six, three-in-four, back-to-back set. The team has had the last three nights off since a 2-1 road regulation loss to the Rangers on a Monday and a 2-1 home regulation win against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. After this game, the Devils face a 12:30 p.m. home matinee with the Pacific Division leading Los Angeles Kings on Sunday before hosting the Flyers on Tuesday.
Flyers Outlook
After starting the season 5-8-3, the Flyers have gone 19-12-6. For the season, the Flyers have posted a 13-8-6 home record. The club is 3-2-1 thus far in February.
On Thursday, the Flyers rode a four-goal barrage in the second period, strong goaltending from Steve Mason throughout and a six-for-six performance on the penalty kill to a 5-1 home win against the Buffalo Sabres.
R.J. Umberger snapped a 50-game goalless drought that dated back to Jan.27 of last season (vs. Arizona) to open the floodgates in the second period. Brayden Schenn (15th goal of the season), Wayne Simmonds (20th) and Michael Raffl (seventh) followed up before the end of the period. Nick Cousins scored a third period breakaway goal; his first NHL tally. Cousins and Raffl both had two-point games. Shayne Gostisbehere earned an assist on the Simmonds goal to tie Mikael Renberg's franchise-record (1993-94) rookie point streak at 10 games.
Making his sixth start in 10 nights, Mason stopped 41 of 42 shots against Buffalo. The highlights of his performance included making five saves in a 10-second span in the first period and turning back 17 of 18 shots in the third period.
Backup goaltender Michal Neuvirth was activated from the injured reserve list on Thursday, and could get his first start since Jan. 27 in Washington. The Flyers remain without key two-way center Sean Couturier (IR, lower-body injury). Despite Thursday's win, the Flyers are just 3-8-2 without Couturier in the lineup. He will be out the rest of February.
Hard-hitting Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas, who has had four hits looked at by the NHL this season and was suspended once (three games), did not face a hearing for a controversial late-game hit on Buffalo's Daniel Catenacci in Thursday's match. Gudas has incurred 40 penalty minutes over his last six games, including three high-sticking minors, a match penalty for clipping and a charging major on the sequence with Catenacci. Hakstol has not hidden his displeasure with all the recent penalties that have left the team shorthanded.
The Flyers held an optional practice on Friday. Hakstol did not rule out changes from Thursday's lineup. Matt Read (for the second time this season) and Scott Laughton were healthy scratches on Thursday, along with Evgeny Medvedev (for the third straight game). There will be no morning skate on Saturday. Lineups will be updated after the pregame warmups.
Team captain Claude Giroux leads the Flyers with 16 goals, 29 assists and 45 points in 53 games. He is followed on the Flyers' scoring leader list by Jakub Voracek (eight goals, 35 assists, 43 points), Simmonds (20 goals, 16 assists, 36 points, 110 penalty minutes), and Brayden Schenn (15 goals, 15 assists, 30 points). Rookie defenseman Gostisbehere has nine goals (five on the power play, three in overtime), 20 assists and 29 points in 35 games. The injured Couturier rounds out the top six with nine goals, 15 assists and 24 points in 40 games.
Mason has appeared in 35 games, posting a 13-14-7 record, 2.65 goals against average, .917 save percentage and three shutouts (four regulation shutouts). Neuvirth has appeared in 20 games, posting an 11-6-2 record, 2.05 GAA, .933 save percentage and three shutouts.
Devils Outlook
The Devils have posted a 2-1-2 record thus far in February and is 6-2-2 over its last 10 games. The club is 14-11-3 this season on the road.
New Jersey has had the last three nights off since downing the Oilers, 2-1, at the Prudential Center on Tuesday. Reid Boucher's third-period power play goal put the Devils ahead to stay with 12:47 remaining in the game. Adam Henrique opened the scoring with a first-period power play goal before Edmonton soon tied the game. Boucher and Henrique took turns assisting on each other's tallies. Winning goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 19 of 20 shots.
Schneider, a workhorse who has already made 46 starts this season will get the start on Saturday afternoon. For the season, he has posted a 24-16-6 record, 2.01 goals against average, .930 save percentage and four shutouts. Backup goaltender Keith Kinkaid has made nine starts and one relief appearance, going 3-5-1 with a 2.52 goals against average and .909 save percentage. Kinkaid left practice on Friday after taking a shot off his knee but is OK.
The current-day Devils, despite the departures of franchise icon Lou Lamoriello and former head coach Peter DeBoer, still have a very familiar identity: they don't score much but they don't to because they often make it even harder to score against them.
The Devils boast the NHL's lowest team goals against average, and they are very tough to beat once they get to play from in front. New Jersey is 18-0-4 when scoring first, 12-1-0 when leading after the first period and 16-0-1 when taking a lead into the third period.
In the meantime, however, New Jersey enters this game as the lowest-scoring team in the NHL. The Devils have been pretty effective on the power play, cracking a 20-plus percent success rate and ranking seventh in the NHL. At 5-on-5, the Devils have scored the fewest goals in the league by a wide margin.
Lee Stempniak leads the Devils offensively with 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists) in 55 games. Fellow veteran forward Mike Cammalleri has played just 42 games this season, but is only two points (14 goals, 24 assists, 38 points) behind Stempniak. They are followed by Henrique (18 goals, 18 assists, 36 points), Kyle Palmieri (20 goals, 15 assists, 35 points) and Travis Zajac (eight goals, 18 assists, 26 points in 47 games). David Schlemko, who has already established new NHL career-highs in goals, assists and points, leads Devils defensemen with six goals and 15 points in 47 games; an indication of how little offense the Devils' generate from their blueline.
On the injury front, Cammalleri (hand) is on injured reserve, as are Jiri Tlusty (wrist surgery), veteran Flyer-killer Patrik Elias (knee surgery) and defenseman Jon Merrill (right arm). Merrill, who has been practicing since Tuesday, may be ready to be activated and play on Saturday. If so, Eric Gelinas is a potential healthy scratch.
The availability of frequent healthy scratch Stefan Matteau for this game is questionable after he got struck with a puck and cut under his right eye in Friday's practice. Matteau was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons.
Key team stat comparisons (NHL overall ranking)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.40 (24th), Devils 2.22 (30th)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.60 (T-14th), Devils 2.24 (1st)
5-on-5 Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 80/80, Devils 71/77
Power play efficiency: Flyers 17.7% (23rd), Devils 20.3% (7th)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 79.4% (22nd), Devils 83.0% (8th)
Shots per game: Flyers 30.3 (13th), Devils 24.5 (30th)
Shots against per game: Flyers 32.4 (29th), Devils 28.8 (T-8th)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 50.0% (T-16th), Devils 47.0% (29th)
Projected lineups (subject to change, will be updated)
Flyers
93 Jakub Voracek - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl - 52 Nick Cousins - 10 Brayden Schenn
76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Ryan White
20 R.J. Umberger - 19 Jordan Weal - 89 Sam Gagner
15 Michael Del Zotto - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
55 Nick Schultz - 32 Mark Streit
23 Brandon Manning - 3 Radko Gudas
30 Michal Neuvirth
[35 Steve Mason]
Scratches: Evgeny Medvedev (healthy), Matt Read (healthy), Scott Laughton (healthy),Sean Couturier (IR, lower body).
Devils
64 Joseph Blandisi - 14 Adam Henrique - 20 Lee Stempniak
51 Sergey Kalinin - 19 Travis Zajac - 21 Kyle Palmieri
12 Reid Boucher - 16 Jacob Josefson - 48 Tyler Kennedy
23 Bobby Farnham - 11 Stephen Gionta - 22 Jordin Tootoo
6 Andy Greene - 5 Adam Larsson
7 Jon Merrill - 8 David Schlemko
28 Damon Severson - 2 John Moore
35 Cory Schneider
[1 Keith Kinkaid]
Scratches: Eric Gelinas (healthy), Tuomo Ruutu (healthy), Stefan Matteau (facial cuts), Mike Cammalleri (IR, hand), Jiri Tlusty (IR, wrist surgery), Patrik Elias (IR, knee surgery), Ryane Clowe (LTIR, post-concussion syndrome).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»