(PREVIEW 11:45 PM, Sunday Nov 15, 2009)

The Philadelphia Flyers had a five-game winning streak halted by the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night but have been playing strong all-around hockey for the last few weeks. After a lengthy stretch of inactivity, the team recently embarked upon a packed schedule that will see Philadelphia play 10 games in 17 days. The tilt with the Atlantic Division leading New Jersey Devils will be the third game during this segment.

The Flyers last played New Jersey in Philadelphia’s second game of the regular season. On that night in Newark, Martin Brodeur had one of the worst performances of his career and the Devils looked like a moribund squad. Since then, of course, New Jersey has gone off on a tear and comes into this game riding an eight game winning streak and looking to protect a perfect road record on the road.

In some ways, the Flyers’ game against Buffalo on Saturday may have served as good preparation for playing New Jersey. The Devils and Sabres are tied for the fewest goals allowed in the NHL (37), although New Jersey has played one more game than Buffalo. When playing either team, it’s imperative to score first. As is often the case with a Jacques Lemaire coached team, New Jersey is much better at protecting a lead than it is at chasing the game. Philadelphia will need to be prepared to grind out a low-scoring game.

The Flyers’ loss to Buffalo was largely caused by a proliferation of penalties (a problem that Philly had largely corrected in the weeks leading up the game) and by getting outplayed on special teams. Heading into the game on Saturday, Philadelphia’s power play (top-ranked in the NHL) and penalty kill had been clicking. One consolation prize from the last game was Philly’s first shorthanded goal of the season. A year ago, the Flyers far and away led the NHL in that desirable category.

Offense: The Flyers have gotten some healthy players back in the lineup, minus Simon Gagne (who will be out until at least late December as he recovers from hernia surgery). Danny Briere scored a pair of goals in his return on Thursday. The club has gotten more than it could have hoped for from its third and fourth lines but could use a little more consistent game-in-and-game-out production from the Mike Richards and Jeff Carter lines. Rookie James van Riemsdyk suffered a broken pinkie last week and missed the Buffalo game with the flu, but he may be ready to play in this one.

Defense: Philadelphia’s strongest area of improvement since last season has been in its team defense. The additions of Blair Betts and Ian Laperriere have strengthened the checking lines. Moreover, after a slow start, the defense pairing of Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn has come on strong in recent weeks. The top pairing of Chris Pronger and Matt Carle has been excellent for most of the season to date. Fifth defenseman Ryan Parent has returned to the lineup after missing most of the last month with a groin pull. The sixth defensive spot has been a revolving door between the injured Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (concussion) and rookie Danny Syvret. Latvian rookie Oskars Bartulis has dressed in the last two games.

Goaltending: Ray Emery has been outstanding for much of the season. He let in a costly preventable goal in the Buffalo game when he got “happy feet” around his crease and never got in synch as a goal was ultimately scored from a side angle. Otherwise, he’s been making opposing teams earn each and every goal of late.

FLYERS LINEUP (Subject to change)

JVR - Carter - Briere
Hartnell - Richards - Giroux
Carcillo - Betts - Laperriere
Pyorala - Powe - Asham

Carle - Pronger
Coburn - Timonen
Parent - Bartulis

Emery
[Boucher]

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