Devils at Flyers
THE STORY: The Philadelphia Flyers flexed their muscle
and spoiled both the season opener and New Jersey Devils coaching debut
of Peter DeBoer on Oct. 8. In fact, their shiny new acquisition - Ilya
Bryzgalov - posted the team's first shutout since the 2009-10 campaign.
Some 26 days later, the bloom is off the rose in relation to Bryzgalov,
who has managed to mix flashes of brilliance with some head-scratching
blunders during his short time in the City of Brotherly Love. After
being admittedly "terrible" and having "zero confidence" in himself
following last week's wild 9-8 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the Russian
has won both of his subsequent starts. On Wednesday, Bryzgalov turned
aside 29 shots in the Flyers' 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres and may
get the start in Thursday's game against the Devils at the Wells Fargo
Center. On the other end of the ice will likely be Johan Hedberg,
considering future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur did not fare well in his
return from a seven-game absence due to a shoulder injury. Brodeur
permitted the third career hat trick to former Flyer Joffrey Lupul as
the Maple Leafs handed the Devils their fifth loss in six games with a
5-3 decision on Wednesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG+, CSP
ABOUT THE DEVILS (4-5-1): Patrik Elias has certainly
made his mark in the Garden State. Elias netted his 93rd career
power-play goal to wrest the franchise lead from former coach John
MacLean. Nine of Elias' 32 career goals against the Flyers
have come on the power play. Ilya Kovalchuk, ye of the mammoth $100
million contract, hasn't scored a goal in six games and his minus-2 on
Wednesday puts him at minus-7 for the campaign.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (7-4-1): Scott Hartnell has collected
five goals and 10 points during his last five games, matching the best
stretch of his NHL career. The line of Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr and Claude
Giroux has recorded 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in the last five
contests. Hartnell's tally capped a three-goal first period and resulted
in his second game-winning goal of the season. Linemate Giroux netted
the eventual game-winner in the Flyers' win over the Devils earlier this
season.
OVERTIME:
1. Fourth overall pick Adam Larsson notched his first NHL point on Wednesday with an assist on Elias' goal.
2. Flyers RW Max Talbot played in his 400th NHL game on Wednesday.
Although he lost 13 of 17 faceoffs, Talbot did record a team-high four
hits and logged over 20 minutes of ice time.