Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers Gameday: 3/17/17 @ NJ; Wrap: Flyers Blank Penguins, 4-0
March 16, 2017, 9:49 AM ET [450 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
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PREVIEW: FLYERS @ DEVILS

In the third game of a three-in-four set, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (32-29-8) are in Newark to face John Hynes' New Jersey Devils (25-31-12). Game time at the Prudential Center is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on CSN Philadelphia.

This is the third of five meetings between the Metropolitan Division teams this season, and the second of three at the Prudential Center. The Devils won each of the first two games: 4-0 in Newark on Dec. 22 and 4-1 in Philadelphia on Jan. 21.

Flyers Outlook

Factoring their tiebreaker disadvantage, the Flyers have a six-point deficit to make up in the chase for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with 13 games remaining. They would not only have to take care of their own business but also get considerable outside help (in regulation) to pull off a near-miraculous rescue of a position they comfortably held at the Christmas break.

On Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers earned a 4-0 win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Steve Mason recorded a 23-save shutout (third shutout of the 2016-17 season) while Sean Couturier, Wayne Simmonds (power play), Claude Giroux and Dale Weise supplied the goal support. Weise had been a healthy scratch for six consecutive games and 13 of 22. He ended a 33-game stretch without a goal.

With Mason having started on Monday and Wednesday and Hakstol having said last week that both goalies would see action as the schedule got busy once again, Michal Neuvirth could get the start in Newark. The talented but streaky and injury-prone Neuvirth brings the NHL's lowest save percentage (.888) among the 55 goaltenders who have played in at least 15 games and is 56th among the 60 who have played in 12 or more games.

On the injury front, Michael Raffl (lower-body injury) remains on injured reserve and could miss the rest of the regular season. Defenseman Brandon Manning is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Devils Outlook

Good, bad or in between, the Devils habitually give the Flyers' fits regardless of New Jersey's record or recent play. The Flyers learned the hard way in the previous two meetings this season. That said, New Jersey has been an utter mess of late.

The team has sunk to the basement of the Eastern Conference, is winless in its last 10 games (0-8-2) and has lost six in a row in regulation. As a team, the Devils' 153 goals represent the second-lowest output of any NHL club.

The Devils enter this game coming off a 5-4 road loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. New Jersey trailed 4-0 and 5-3 but rallied back to have a chance to tie the game when Taylor Hall was awarded a penalty shot with 2:38 left in the third period. Arizona goalie Mike Smith stopped Hall and the Coyotes hung on for the win. In a losing cause, Kyle Palmieri scored power play (21st) and even strength (22nd) goals, while Beau Bennett (4th) and John Moore (7th) also tallied for the Devils.

Keith Kinkaid, who stopped 20 of 21 shots in relief of starter Cory Schneider (six saves on 10 shots) was tagged with a hard-luck loss due to the NHL's game-winning goal criteria. Kinkaid will get the start against the Flyers. Forwards Mike Cammalleri (upper body) and Jacob Josefson (upper body) are both doubtful for Thursday's game.


Projected lineups (Subject to change)

FLYERS

25 Nick Cousins - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds
11 Travis Konecny - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 93 Jakub Voracek
22 Dale Weise - 14 Sean Couturier - 10 Brayden Schenn
76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Édouard Bellemare - 24 Matt Read

9 Ivan Provorov - 47 Andrew MacDonald
55 Nick Schultz - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
15 Michael Del Zotto - 3 Radko Gudas

30 Michal Neuvirth / 35 Steve Mason

Scratches: Brandon Manning (upper body), Roman Lyubimov (healthy), Michael Raffl (IR, lower body), Jordan Weal (day-to-day, lower body).


DEVILS

9 Taylor Hall - 19 Travis Zajac - 21 Kyle Palmieri
64 Joseph Blandisi - 14 Adam Henrique - 8 Beau Bennett
37 Pavel Zacha - 42 John Quenneville - 23 Stefan Noesen
40 Blake Coleman - 56 Blake Pietila - 44 Miles Wood

6 Andy Greene - 34 Steve Santini
7 Jon Merrill - 12 Ben Lovejoy
2 John Moore - 28 Damon Severson

1 Keith Kinkaid
[35 Cory Schneider]

Scratches: Kenneth Appelby (healthy), Nick Lappin (healthy), Dalton Prout (healthy), Mike Cammalleri (upper body), Jacob Josefson (healthy), Marc Savard (LTIR).

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WRAP: FLYERS BLANK PENGUINS, 3-0

The Flyers would need to rattle off an extraordinary winning streak (and receive outside help) for Wednesday night's 4-0 home win against the Pittsburgh Penguins to have much meaning in the long haul. If nothing else, however, the Flyers kept alive their streak of having gained at least one point -- regulation tie or a Philadelphia victory -- in every season series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in franchise history.

The Flyers had seven of their first nine shot attempts of the game blocked but persisted. A strong late first period penalty kill that saw the Flyers generate three of their eight shots was an early momentum shifter despite a scoreless opening stanza.

In the second period, Andrew MacDonald flipped a puck into the right corner where Sean Couturier won a battle and sent it around the boards to Brayden Schenn. As Schenn centered the puck, Dale Weise tipped it over to Couturier near the right post. Couturier finished off his 11th goal of the season at the 1:00 mark.

The Flyers extended the lead to 2-0 at 6:20. With Ian Cole in the box for cross-checking, the Flyers' change in first-unit personnel paid off. From the left point, Ivan Provorov rotated the puck D-to-D over to Shayne Gostisbehere. Simmonds then quickly potted the rebound. The goal was Simmonds' 29th of the season, 200th of his NHL career and 15th power play goal of the season. He is tied with Schenn for the NHL league lead in power play goals this season.

The 2-0 lead held until late in the third period. At 15:44, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare intercepted a Justin Schultz pass in the Pittsburgh zone. After a feed to Claude Giroux in the slot, the Flyers' captain one-timed home a shot past Matt Murray to build a three-goal cushion.

Weise added a fourth Philadelphia goal in the final minute, as Schenn pinballed a shot that went off a defender, off Murray and off Weise's stick for his third goal of the season. Couturier, who won a battle against Sidney Crosby on the front end of the play, got the secondary assist. Couturier had eight shots on goal for the game.

Steve Mason took care of the rest. He stopped all 23 shots he faced for his 33rd career shutout (14th as a Flyer). Murray stopped 24 of 28 Flyers shots. Philly outshot Pittsburgh by a 21-15 margin over the final 40 minutes.