UPDATE 12:15 PM
Ilya Kovalchuk participated in practice today, skating on the fourth line. It looks like he'll play tonight, seeing minimal five-on-five duty but assuming his normal spot on the point during power plays. I have updated the lineup below accordingly.
PREVIEW 6:30 AM EDT
Coming off a game in which they apparently misplaced their skating legs for 46 minutes, the Flyers will look to take a two games to one series lead tonight as their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the New Jersey Devils resumes. The scene shifts to Newark for the next two games. Tonight's game starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast nationally in the U.S. on NBCSN and across Canada on CBC.
On Tuesday night, the Flyers got off to a strong start for the first 14-plus minutes of the opening period. They grabbed a quick goal by Matt Read and applied a lot of pressure. A pair of stalled Flyers' power plays appeared to drain their energy and embolden the Devils.
Thereafter, the Devils dominated the rest of the game. Ilya Bryzgalov single-handedly held off New Jersey in a second period that saw the Flyers held without a shot for nearly 18 minutes. In the third period, the scoring floodgates opened for the Devils, and New Jersey rode a four-goal outburst to a 4-1 victory.
For the Flyers to bounce back tonight, everything comes back to skating. They need to keep their feet moving to re-establish their forechecking, backchecking and special teams games. The Devils played high-energy hockey in Game 2, and it will be up to Philly to match their hustle, work ethic and execution on defensive zone exits and offensive zone entries.
New Jersey did an outstanding job of compensating for the absence of Ilya Kovalchuk in Game 2. His status for tonight remains unknown but it appears that he may have to sit out one more game while dealing with reported lower back and/or groin issues.
On the Philly side, the team will ice a full lineup, minus still-rehabbing defenseman Andrej Meszaros. However, Scott Hartnell has been hobbled by an apparent foot/ankle injury sustained in the first game of the series (he limped off to the bench and briefly went up the tunnel).
Tonight, the team needs for several among Hartnell, Claude Giroux, Jaromir Jagr, Danny Briere, James van Riemsdyk, Jakub Voracek and/or Wayne Simmonds to considerably pick up their play from the the last game. None of the aforementioned players were effective in the last game.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
Hartnell - Giroux - Jagr
JVR - Briere - Voracek
Talbot - Couturier - Wellwood
Read - Schenn - Simmonds
Carle - Timonen
Grossmann - Coburn
Lilja - Gustafsson
Bryzgalov
[Bobrovsky]
DEVILS
Ponikarovsky - Zajac - Zubrus
Parise - Elias - Clarkson
Sykora - Henrique - Bernier
Carter - Gionta - Kovalchuk
Larsson - Volchenkov
Zidlicky - Salvador
Greene - Fayne
Brodeur
[Hedberg]
*********
It would be nice if the Flyers can get their power play back on course tonight, but even if they don't, they can't let it affect their five-on-five execution. My article today for the Courier Post looks at the downturn in Philly's power play so far in this round.
The main focus is on the importance of power forward Hartnell, who scored 16 power play goals among his career-high 37 regular season goals, plus a pair of man advantage tallies in the Pittsburgh series. Even if he's hobbling right now at even strength, the club needs him to collect a few power play goals as the series progresses.
Click
here for more.
********
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Flyers Buzz. For more information click here.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»