The Game: 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC
The Flyers saw their win streak snapped against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, but coming back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game and walking with a point in an overtime loss gives them a five-game point streak. They are, for the moment, neck and neck with the Carolina Hurricanes for second in the Metropolitan Division (though Carolina does have two games in hand).
Who would’ve guessed–at the beginning of the season–that this February Stadium Series matchup between the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers would have serious playoff implications? Nobody, presumably. The Devils are behind the 65-point Flyers in the Metro, with 58 points and two games in hand; this tilt counts as one of those inter-division “four point” games.
The Devils are 4-5-1 in their last ten, which speaks to their season as a whole: up and down, with goaltending often being the deciding factor. Except for Dougie Hamilton, the Devils are fully healthy, with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier all rostered after battling various injuries throughout the season–and those are some talented players, despite a down year for Meier.
It’s uncertain whether Sean Couturier, Tyson Foerster, or Cam York will be available for Saturday’s game: York and Couturier were injured in Toronto, and Foerster’s been dealing with a foot injury after blocking a shot. With the amount of offensive firepower the Devils have, having those three players–who’re very good at defensive play–could be a deciding factor.
To complicate matters, the forecast is calling for snow (one could call it…a Frost warning). While that may make for a more picturesque hockey game, it could make skating and goaltender sight lines more difficult–either way, it should make for a unique hockey viewing experience.
Players to Watch
Noah Cates
Boy, has Cates been around it lately. The scoresheet doesn’t reflect it, but Noah Cates always seems to be involved in plays in the offensive zone; he’s looked like an extension of the player we saw last season, rather than the husk he was to start 2023-24. Watch for him to be all over the Devils’ top players, and hopefully he pops one in the net himself (or, at least, sets up a pretty breakaway on the PK).
Joel Farabee
Jack Hughes may wear 86, but guess what? We’ve got our own 86–Joel Farabee! Yung Beez continues to have a strong season, and he had an assist in Toronto. Farabee hasn’t had a goal in nearly a month, and this Stadium Series would be a great time to end that drought.
Simon Nemec
This one’s a bit off-board, but Nemec is quietly having an excellent rookie season. A right-shot defenseman selected second overall in the 2022 draft (where the Flyers oddly did not have a first round pick, if you’ll recall–certainly not fifth overall), Nemec just turned 20 this week and has 14 points in 32 games this season. That box score may not be impressive, but he’s driving play for the Devils at 5-on-5, and him and Luke Hughes have done an admirable job stepping up on the blue line in the absence of Dougie Hamiltion.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Owen Tippett – Sean Couturier – Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee – Morgan Frost – Cam Atkinson
Garnet Hathaway – Ryan Poehling – Noah Cates
Scott Laughton – Olle Lycksell
Cam York* – Travis Sanheim
Marc Staal– Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Sean Walker
Egor Zamula
Sam Ersson
(Cal Petersen)
New Jersey Devils
Ondrej Palat – Nico Hischier – Jesper Bratt
Jack Hughes – Erik Haula – Tyler Toffoli
Timo Meier – Curtis Lazar – Dawson Mercer
Alex Holtz – Tomas Nosek – Nate Bastian
Kevin Bahl – Simon Nemec
Luke Hughes – John Marino
Brendan Smith – Colin Miller
Nico Daws
(Akira Schmid)
*Game time decision
Gameday Tunes
If you’re going to the game: stay warm out there, folks.
Stats via Hockey Reference
