Flyers at Devils
THE STORY: The line between playoff security and urgency is getting blurry for a lot of NHL teams, including the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils. The two Atlantic Division rivals will meet Saturday in the Garden State. Both the Flyers and Devils hold playoff positions, but the margin for error is slim. Saturday's contest will be the third of six meetings between the two teams this season. The Devils won the latest contest on Nov. 3 with a 4-3 victory in a shootout in Philadelphia. Captain Zach Parise and Patrik Elias scored in the decisive session, while Danny Briere replied for Philadelphia. Johan Hedberg made 20 saves for the Devils. The Flyers skated to a 3-0 win in the series opener in New Jersey.
TV: 1 p.m. ET. CSN-Philadelphia, MSG Plus
ABOUT THE FLYERS (27-14-4): Philadelphia, which is 6-4-0 in its last 10 games, is coming off a 4-1 home loss to the New York Islanders. Matt Read netted his 14th goal of the season, which leads all rookies. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves to fall to 10-4-1 on the season. Sean Couturier, another Flyers rookie, assisted on Read's goal extending his point streak to six games. He has five goals and two assists over that span. Couturier had scored in five straight games prior to the Islander game. Philadelphia is 16-7-2 on the road this season.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (26-18-2): New Jersey, which is 6-3-1 in its last 10 games, is coming off a 4-1 home loss to the Boston Bruins. Petr Sykora scored his 12th goal of the season for the Devils, who held a 1-0 edge until the Bruins erupted for four third-period goals - including two in 35 seconds. The loss to Boston was the first in five games for New Jersey. Sykora has scored in consecutive games after going eight contests without tallying. Elias, who assisted on the goal, has four goals and 11 points during his current seven-game point streak. He also has 25 points in his last 21 contests. The Devils are 12-8-1 at home this season.
OVERTIME:
1. All-Star Claude Giroux has not scored a goal since the Winter Classic on Jan. 2. That is a span of eight games.
2. The Devils acquired LW Alexei Ponikarovsky from Carolina for minor-league defenseman Joe Sova and a draft pick late Thursday. Ponikarovsky has recorded seven goals and eight assists in 49 games this season.
3. Scott Hartnell has 20 goals through 45 games this season. Last year, he had 24 goals in 82 games.