Playing the first game of a three-in-four gauntlet leading into the leagewide holiday break, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (17-10-3) are in Newark on Tuesday to take on Lindy Ruff's New Jersey Devils (16-12-1). Game time at the Prudential Center is 7:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the second of four meetings this season between the Metropolitan Division rivals, and the first of two games in Newark. The teams will reconvene on Feb. 17 at 2024 Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium. The season series will conclude in Philadelphia on April 13.
On November 30 at the Wells Fargo Center, the Devils beat the Flyers in overtime, 4-3. Philadelphia battled back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to come away with a point from the game but the Devils prevailed in the opening shift of sudden death on a goal by Luke Hughes.
In regulation, the Flyers received one goal from Morgan Frost (power play rebound) and two from Tyson Foerster (5-on-5 deflection, 6-on-5 power play deflection). Carter Hart stopped 31 of 35 shots.
Winning goalie Akira Schmid was peppered with 48 shots on goal by the Flyers, stopping 45. The Devils' goals in regulation were scored by Alexander Holtz, Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli (power play rebound).
The Nov. 30 game against the Devils marked the start of the Flyers' current eight-game point streak. Philly has gone 6-0-2 over the course of the run.
Here are five things to watch in Tuesday's game:
1. Flyers goalie rotation
Some NHL coaches publicly reveal their next game's starting goaltender one day in advance of a game. Neither Tortorella nor New Jersey counterpart Ruff are among the coaches who do so. The Flyers will not hold a morning skate on Tuesday. Tortorella will meet with the press at roughly 5 p.m. ET, and will announce the starting goalie at that time.
Samuel Ersson (7-3-2 record, 2.57 GAA, .897 SV%, two shutouts) has started each of the last three games and is coming off a stellar performance in a 34-save shutout against the Detroit Red Wings. However, it seems likely that Carter Hart will return to the net for the Flyers for this game.
Hart (9-6-1, 2.42 GAA, .919 SV%, one shutout) missed the last two games due to illness. However, he felt better over the weekend, taking part in Saturday's morning skate and backing up Ersson in the game against Detroit that night. After a teamwide off-day on Sunday, Hart practiced in full on Monday.
If Hart, in fact, makes the start in Newark, it sets up a potential rotation in which Hart goes again on Thursday at home against Nashville and then Ersson plays again versus Detroit on the road on Friday.
2. Couturier keeps on ticking
Veteran Flyers center Sean Couturier has continued to play at a very high level on both sides of the puck. Defensively, the two-time Selke Trophy finalist (one-time winner) has resumed his stature as one of the NHL's best forwards off the puck. Offensively, Couturier has produced seven points in the past eight games (2g, 5a) plus a shootout goal in last Thursday's win against the Capitals.
Over his last 19 games, Couturier has been called upon to absorb an average 19:43 of ice time per game. Over the last 15 games, the 31-year-old center has averaged an even 20:00 TOI with 11 points (4g, 7a) and a traditional plus-seven rating despite going head-to-head with other clubs' top lines.
Couturier is presently a bit banged up. He took maintenance days off from practice last Friday and again on Monday. He also did not participate in Saturday's morning skate in Voorhees. Nonetheless, Couturier had himself ready to go for the drop of the puck in Saturday's 1-0 win over Detroit. Likewise, he's expected to play against the Devils in Tuesday's game at the Prudential Center.
3. Sanheim is good to go
Flyers top defenseman Travis Sanheim was a late scratch on Saturday due to illness. The off-day on Sunday was a big help. By Monday, he was feeling much better and participated in practice. Afterwards, the 27-year-old blueliner (4g, 17a, 21 points, 25:29 TOI) said he was good to go for Tuesday's game.
In Sanheim's absence on Saturday, Rasmus Ristolainen moved up to right defense on the Flyers' top pair alongside Cam York. Both players had a strong night but Ristolainen played one of the best games of his Flyers' career.
With Sanheim returning to play, the Flyers can move Ristolainen back to a pairing with either rookie Egor Zamula or veteran Marc Staal. That decision is up to assistant coach Brad Shaw, who manages the defensemen as well as the penalty kill. Zamula and Staal split reps with Ristolainen at Monday's practice, with the majority going to the rookie.
4. Flyers special teams vs. Devils special teams
The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play in Saturday's game against Detroit. Note: the final power play spanned the final 15.6 seconds of the third period. Over the last three games, the Flyers are 0-for-12. They're 0-for-14 in the last six games (Philly did not have any power play in their 4-1 win over the Coyotes on Dec. 7.
Beneath the numbers, there has been a recent pattern of the Flyers' first power unit creating a significant amount of offensive zone attack time and generating decent puck movement and some scoring chances but struggling to finish. The second unit has largely struggled to get set up.
In Saturday's game, the Flyers made a change on the second unit. Joel Farabee (11 even strength goals, 19 points) replaced Scott Laughton (2g, 13 points) on PP2. One game earlier, York (5g,12 points) moved from PP1 to PP2, and Ristolainen (10 GP, 1a) went from the second unit to the first unit. Back in his days with the Buffalo Sabres, Ristolainen had four straight seasons of 41-plus points.
Overall, the Flyers rank 30th in the NHL on the power play 10.5 percent success (10-for-95). They've allowed only one shorthanded goal but have had several close calls of late.
The Devils rank 26th on the penalty kill (75.8 percent). Opposing power plays are 23-for-95 including the two power play goals the Flyers scored in the Nov. 30 game in Philadelphia. The Devils have scored two shorthanded goals this season: one apiece by Curtis Lazar and Erik Haula.
While the power play has been a season-long struggle for the Flyers, the penalty kill has been a major success. In their most recent game, the Flyers were 3-for-3 on the PK against Detroit.
Overall this season, the Flyers' penalty kill ranks fourth in the NHL at 86.5 percent. Opposing power plays are 13-for-96. The Flyers have scored seven shorthanded goals this season: three by Travis Konecny, two by defenseman Sean Walker and one apiece by Ryan Poehling and Laughton.
Two games ago, the Washington Capitals got a power play goal against the Flyers on a lucky rebound bounce directly onto the stick of Tom Wilson near the left post. Prior to that, the Flyers hadn't yielded an opposing power play goal since Toffoli's third-period tally on Nov. 30.
In New Jersey's last game, a 5-1 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, the Devils went 0-for-5 on the power play. The Ducks' power play went 1-for-5 against the New Jersey PK.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: New Jersey Devils
The Devils have won seven of their last 10 games (7-3-0) but got blown out on home ice by the Anaheim Ducks, 5-1, on Sunday. Adam Henrique punished his former team with a hat trick. Troy Terry and Alex Killorn each had a goal and an assist. Mike McLeod scored the only goal for the Devils.
New Jersey had a 14-4 shot on goal edge in the first period but went off trailing 1-0 on Henrique's first goal. The wheels fell off for the Devils in the second period, although McLeod's goal in the final minute gave New Jersey some short-lived hope heading into the third period. Akira Schmid made 23 saves in a losing cause.
For the season, Jack Hughes tops the team offensively (14 g. 23a. 37 points). He’s followed by Jesper Bratt (12g, team-high 24a, 36 points). Toffoli (13g, 10a, 23 points) is second to Hughes for the club's goal-scoring lead.
Jack Hughes' younger brother, Luke Hughes, is tied for the team scoring lead among defensemen with veteran Dougie Hamilton. Both have 16 points to date. Hamilton has tallied five goals, while the rookie blueliner Hughes has four tallies including the game-winner the last time New Jersey played the Flyers. Hamilton is currently on IR with an upper-body injury.
In goal, the injured Vitek Vanecek has played in 18 games (11-5-0, 3.33 GAA, .883 save percentage). Schmid had appeared in 14 matches (5-7-1, 3.12 GAA, .897 save percentage). Vanecek has made 17 starts and one relief appearance. Schmid has started 12 times and come in mid-game twice to replace Vanecek. In Vanecek's absence, the Devils recalled Nico Daws to back up Schmid.
Veteran forward Tomas Nosek (foot surgery) remains out of the Devils' lineup and there is no timetable as of yet for a potential return. Haula (24 GP, 8g, 7a) was out with an injury the last time the Devils played the Flyers but has since returned.
