Tonight, the Flyers make one quick stop in Newark before finally returning home for the first time since last year.
The most recent road trip was … pretty fun for a change. Sure, the Flyers mainly faced the least competitive teams in the Western Conference, barely snuck past the Canucks, and lost to the most solid competition in Colorado. But hey, 8 out of 10 possible points on a road trip is nothing to dismiss, especially for a team that’s been not so hot on the road this year. And some of them were shootout wins!
Not only have the Flyers been winning lately, but we’ve also seen the emergence of a legitimate second line in Hartnell, Schenn, and Simmonds. Couple that with the fact that Streit is starting to play like he deserves the ridiculous contract Holmgren gave him, and there’s a lot to feel good about right now.
New Jersey Devils (17-18-8, 42 pts) at Philadelphia Flyers (21-17-4, 46 pts)
7:30 p.m. | Prudential Center | Newark, NJ
Local TV: NBCSN, TSN2, RDS2, TCNP | Radio: 93.3 FM
Get the New Jersey perspective at In Lou We Trust
Let’s hope that tonight the Flyers can keep some of the momentum they established (perhaps a little too late for my liking) in Phoenix last Saturday. They’re going to need it if they want to stay in second place in the Atlantic Metropolitan.
The New Jersey Devils currently sit not so far behind the Flyers in the division, and seem like a pretty even match for the boys in orange. They score fewer goals per game, but keep more out, and have similar goals for/goals against ratios at even strength. Their power play is middle of the pack, but they boast the third best penalty kill in the league (who knew?), just behind Vancouver and Pittsburgh.
Their current leading scorer is former Flyer Jaromir Jagr, which is equal parts ridiculous and amazing. If you had told me Jagr would have 34 points just halfway through the season in 2014, I never would have believed you. But you wouldn’t have even said that because you would have been laughed out of the room.
The Devils are without Patrik Elias, who is out right now with what appears to be a somewhat serious injury. While this is terrible news for New Jersey, this should be good for the Flyers, as Elias has been their rock on offense since the beginning of time.
Looks like Michael Raffl will be back in the lineup for the Flyers tonight, which is great because not only has he been stellar on the first line, but it also means that Jay Rosehill will sit in the press box.
Ray Emery gets the start in net for the Flyers. New Jersey is going with Martin Brodeur, who has still not retired.
Team Canada snubbed Giroux today because they are idiots. Let’s hope that sparks a fire in Ginger Jesus.
Game starts at 7:30. Devils suck. Go Flyers.
