Devils at Flyers
Buried in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia Flyers need to take advantage of a four-game homestand that begins with a matchup against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. It is a critical juncture for Philadelphia, which has lost 10 of its last 11 away from home and has an eight-game road trip looming after this homestand. The Flyers have lost four straight at home to the Devils, including a 6-4 defeat on Oct. 9.
New Jersey has been sinking in the East since opening the season with three straight wins, falling in a shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday to lose for the 13th time in 18 games (5-10-3). Jaromir Jagr said getting some healthy bodies back from an injury-ravaged roster will help the team turn things around. "There's no question about it," Jagr said. "It all depends on the guys with injuries when they come back."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, MSG (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (11-13-5): With an already-lengthy injury list, New Jersey disclosed on Wednesday that defenseman Adam Larsson and center Travis Zajac were both diagnosed with mumps. Zajac, who has also been dealing with a lower-body injury and has missed the past six games, is over the malady and is skating again but Larsson has been quarantined from the rest of the squad and will sit out his fifth game in a row. The Devils will also be without center Patrik Elias (groin), who was placed on injured reserve prior to Tuesday's game.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (9-13-5): Philadelphia had some positives to take away from its road trip, losing in the final seconds at San Jose while falling in a shootout to Anaheim and in overtime versus Columbus - its fourth straight one-goal decision. "A lot of games we played on this road trip have been good," defenseman Nicklas Grossmann said. "We just haven't got the results we wanted." Brayden Schenn scored twice Tuesday to end a seven-game drought, but the offense continues to struggle, producing two goals or fewer in seven of the last eight games.
OVERTIME
1. Jagr (1,062) needs one assist to tie Steve Yzerman for seventh place on the all-time list.
2. Philadelphia has scored a power-play goal in five straight games.
3. Devils G Cory Schneider is attempting to win consecutive starts for the first time since Nov. 11-14.