Flyers at Devils preview

FLYERS (19-15-8) at DEVILS (22-11-8)
7 p.m. ET; MSG+, NBCSP, NHL.TV

The Devils, who look to avoid their sixth straight loss (0-2-3 in their past five games), are third in the Metropolitan Division with 52 points.
Hischier, 19, who became the first Switzerland-born player selected No. 1 in an NHL draft, is tied with forward Jesper Bratt for second on New Jersey in scoring with 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) behind forward Taylor Hall, who has 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists).
Patrick, 19, has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 33 games for the Flyers, who are seventh in the Metropolitan Division with 46 points and seek their fourth consecutive win. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who did not practice on Friday and was absent from the morning skate, is not expected to play because of an illness.

Players to watch

Flyers forward Claude Giroux has six points (one goal, five assists) in a three-game point streak, and 24 points (three goals, 21 assists) in his past 15 games.
Hall has scored a goal in three straight games and has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past eight games.

They said it

"There's been a lot of line juggling throughout the year and I'm just trying to contribute as much as I can. I know I can play better and do more, so I'm just trying to stay confident as much as I can." -- Flyers center Nolan Patrick
"It's not a 1-on-1 competition between me and [Patrick]. He's a great guy … but on the ice we're not going to be friends." -- Devils center Nico Hischier

Flyers projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Travis Konecny
Michael Raffl -- Valtteri Filppula -- Jakub Voracek
Jordan Weal -- Nolan Patrick -- Wayne Simmonds
Jori Lehtera -- Scott Laughton --
Tyrell Goulbourne
Ivan Provorov -- Robert Hagg
Brandon Manning -- Andrew MacDonald
Travis Sanheim -- Radko Gudas
Brian Elliott
Michal Neuvirth
Scratched:Dale Weise, Taylor Leier
Injured: Shayne Gostisbehere (illness)

Devils projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Marcus Johansson -- Travis Zajac -- Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood -- Pavel Zacha -- Drew Stafford
Blake Coleman -- Brian Boyle -- Brian Gibbons
Andy Greene -- Damon Severson
John Moore -- Sami Vatanen
Will Butcher -- Ben Lovejoy
Cory Schneider
Keith Kinkaid
Scratched: Jimmy Hayes, Steven Santini, Stefan Noesen
Injured:Mirco Mueller (fractured clavicle)

Status report

Sanheim returns after sitting out the past five games as a healthy scratch. ... Mueller returned to practice Friday for the first time since he was injured on Nov. 12.

Stat pack

Couturier has scored at least one goal and has six points (five goals, one assist) in his past three games. He has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his past seven games. ... Schneider is 0-2-2 with 16 goals allowed in his past four starts after winning his previous five starts and allowing 10 goals.