Flyers-Devils: Game 12 Preview

The Flyers trip to Pittsburgh was, in a word, embarrassing. They followed up a dismal 5-3 loss to the Islanders on Sunday night with a 7-1 loss to the Penguins that was over before it started.

With two straight losses following a three-game winning streak, the Flyers made some roster adjustments and look to get back on the winning track against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.

Puck drop is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	New Jersey Devils	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	11	6	7	13	Taylor Hall	10	1	8	9
Jake Voracek	11	4	5	9	Kyle Palmieri	10	6	1	7
Oskar Lindblom	11	6	2	8	Pavel Zacha	9	2	4	6
Kevin Hayes	11	4	3	7	Sami Vatanen	10	3	3	6
Claude Giroux	11	2	5	7	Jesper Bratt	9	3	2	5

Player to Watch
28 Claude Giroux	21 Kyle Palmieri
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, +6	Last 5 Games: 4 G, 0 A, 4 P, E

Claude Giroux finally got on the board in Chicago last week with his first goal of the season and added another one late against the Islanders, but the top line has been mostly ineffective. Alain Vigneault specifically named Giroux as a player that the team needs more from, so look for the Flyers captain to be more involved.

Kyle Palmieri is starting to heat up, posting a hat trick in his last game. The noted Flyers killer has 11 career goals against Philadelphia.

Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	29 Mackenzie Blackwood
7 GP, 2-3-1, 3.32 GAA, .864 SV%	6 GP, 2-2-2, 3.31 GAA, .871 SV%

Carter Hart's last start was another rough one, allowing five goals on 14 shots before being pulled against the Islanders. Hart did get some time in relief against the Penguins, playing the third period and stopping eight of nine shots. He gets a chance to bounce back and get back to form against the team he shut out on Oct. 9.

Mackenzie Blackwood gets the start for the Devils. His last outing was a rough one, allowing four goals on 16 shots to the Coyotes in a loss on Oct. 25. Prior to that, Blackwood had two solid games, posting a 25-save shutout against Vancouver on Oct. 19 and making 29 saves on 31 shots in a win over the Rangers on Oct. 17.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick, Scott Laughton

Scratches: Tyler Pitlick, Robert Hagg

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk	28 Claude Giroux	93 Jake Voracek
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
12 Michael Raffl	13 Kevin Hayes	49 Joel Farabee
81 Carsen Twarynski	50 German Rubtsov	44 Chris Stewart
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	61 Justin Braun
6 Travis Sanheim	5 Phil Myers
Goalie
79 Carter Hart	37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

Following Thursday's roster moves, the Flyers will bring Carsen Twarynski into the lineup on the fourth line. German Rubtsov makes his NHL debut centering the fourth line. Defensively, Phil Myers re-joins the lineup, playing on a pair with Travis Sanheim. Shayne Gostisbehere will play with Justin Braun. Tyler Pitlick and Robert Hagg come out of the lineup.

Devils Projected Lineup

Injuries: Connor Carrick

Scratches: Jesper Boqvist, Nikita Gusev, Mirco Mueller

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
9 Taylor Hall	86 Jack Hughes	21 Kyle Palmieri
37 Pavel Zacha	13 Nico Hischier	63 Jesper Bratt
20 Blake Coleman	19 Travis Zajac	17 Wayne Simmonds
44 Miles Wood	16 Kevin Rooney	15 John Hayden
Defense
28 Damon Severson	76 P.K. Subban
6 Andy Greene	45 Sami Vatanen
8 Will Butcher	7 Matt Tennyson
Goalie
29 Mackenzie Blackwood	35 Cory Schneider

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (T-11th), Devils (26th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (5th), Devils (T-25th)
Recent History vs. Devils
- Oct. 20, 2018 - Flyers 5, Devils 2 (at PHI)
- Nov. 16, 2018 - Devils 3, Flyers 0 (at PHI)
- Jan. 12, 2019 - Devils 3, Flyers 2 (at NJ)
- March 1, 2019 - Flyers 6, Devils 3 (at NJ)
- Oct. 9, 2019 - Flyers 4, Devils 0 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Devils
- Claude Giroux - 49 GP, 11 G, 35 A, 46 P
- James van Riemsdyk - 32 GP, 14 G, 10 A, 24 P
- Jake Voracek - 39 GP, 7 G, 22 A, 29 P
- Kevin Hayes - 18 GP, 6 G, 7 A, 13 P
- Carter Hart - 2 GP, 1-1-0, 1.54 GAA, .941 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Jake Voracek needs one goal to reach 200 for his career.
- Kevin Hayes needs four goals to reach 100 for his career.