:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/6766406/143811753.jpg)
7:30 p.m., Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
Game 4, Eastern Semifinals
Devils lead, 2-1
TV: NBC Sports Network, CBC
RADIO: 610 WIP
NJD BLOG: In Lou We Trust
We've already been over how tonight's Game 4 vs. the Devils is a must-win game for the Flyers, so we won't recount that, but there are reasons to be optimistic heading into the evening.
First, it does look like Sean Couturier will be back in the lineup this evening. He skated this morning in Newark and he's listed as a game-time decision, but Tim Panaccio says he'd bet his house that Coots will play. I'm sure he likes his house, so we'll have to take that as a pretty good sign Couturier will be in the lineup. We know how important he is defensively, so this is clearly good news.
Secondly, we know how this Flyers team plays when their backs are against the wall. Game 6 against Pittsburgh? Yeah, that's a team that can win the Stanley Cup, and if they want to continue to have a shot at it this season, they need to step up and play that way again tonight. They haven't faced all that much adversity thus far in these playoffs until now -- in-game adversity, yes, but not in terms of a series -- so maybe this turns out to be a good thing for them. We can hope.
The one thing we haven't talked much about is the fact that Claude Giroux's line is getting destroyed by the Devils. They can't produce much of anything, and it's one of the reasons the Devils have the lead in this series heading into Game 4. Zach Parise had a great game on Thursday night and the Flyers need their star to have a great game tonight.
The lines have been shuffled quite a bit, but who knows if they'll actually stay this way come game time. For now, though, the Giroux line has been broken, and the only line that remains in tact is the fourth line.
Simmonds - Giroux - van Riemsdyk
Hartnell - Briere - Voracek
Jagr - Schenn - Read
Talbot/Rinaldo - Couturier/Talbot - Wellwood
The Devils appear to be going with the same lineup as Game 3. Check in with In Lou We Trust for more from the Devils perspective, and go Flyers.