Devils Visit Flyers in Last Road Stop of Year | PREVIEW

New Jersey will close out their away schedule on Saturday at 5 p.m. when they visit the Flyers in Philadelphia. 

You can watch on MSGSN or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below, presented by Mikula Contracting.

PRE-GAME STORY

PHILADELPHIA - The New Jersey Devils will only be making one line change tonight when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers in their final away game of the season. After the last few days injured, Kaapo Kahkonen will return to the Devils net as the only lineup change. Tomas Nosek remains out with an upper-body injury. Graeme Clarke gets a second consecutive game since his call-up earlier this week, and Nick DeSimone will remain a scratch on defense. 

The Flyers are in desperation mode, trying to keep their playoff hopes alive. That ups the ante of the game for everyone.

"We're going to have to be ready to play," interim head coach Travis Green said, "It's going to be a fun game to play. Obviously, we're playing a team that's playing some desperate hockey tonight and they're going to need to win this game. They're going to come out with their best and I would want our team to be looking forward to this game, it's going to be an exciting building tonight and I look forward to seeing it."

PREVIEW

DEVILS (38-37-5) vs. FLYERS (37-32-11)

Head-to-Head

The Devils and Flyers meet for the fourth and final time this season and a first since the two teams clashed in the cold outdoors at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 17. New Jersey holds the 3-2 series edge over Philadelphia, having won the series opener on Nov. 30 in overtime and the Stadium Series game, 6-3, two months ago.

Devils Team Scope:

The Devils are winding down their regular season and are focused on competing until the very end. No game displayed that better than the high-octane affair the Devils and Leafs played just two nights ago. Timo Meier had a three-point night, including two power-play goals, bringing his current season total to 27, joining Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt among the team's top goal scorers. Bratt hit the 27-goal mark with two goals of his own in Toronto and also added an assist. For Bratt, not only has he reached 80-plus points in a season for the first time, but his 82 points in 80 games played officially makes him a point-per-game player for the first time in his career.

Flyers Team Scope:

The Flyers, for a team still in contention for the final Wild Card spot in the East, sit in an unenviable position where they only control part of their post-season fate. They are fighting with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings for the final spot up for grabs. Philly, Detroit and Washington all have 85 points, one behind the Pittsburgh Penguins. All teams have at least one game in hand on Philadelphia.

In their previous game, the Flyers finally ended an eight-game losing streak with a big win over the New York Rangers on Thursday night. The Flyers are led by 32-goal scorer Travis Konecny, who has 67 points in his 74 games played this season, followed by forward Owen Tippett, who has 53 points (28g-25a).

By the Numbers:

Timo Meier's two goals on the power play against Toronto and adding a power play assist marks the first time in his career that he's had a three-point man-advantage night in his career. His two goals also brought his season total to 10 power-play goals, which now leads the Devils this season, jumping one ahead of Jack Hughes. 

Jesper Bratt's game-winning goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs with less than two minutes to play in the game was his seventh game-winner this season setting a new career-high. Bratt previously set his high during the 2021-22 season with six.

Injuries:

Devils

Hamilton (torn pectoral muscle, LTIR)
Bastian (lower-body, IR)
Nosek (unknown)
J. Hughes (shoulder)
Lazar (upper-body)

Flyers

Ellis (back, LTIR)
Ristolainen (upper-body, IR)