Flyers at Devils
The New Jersey Devils hope to avoid their worst winless streak in 26 years and continue their success in the series with a major rival when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. The Devils have dropped 10 straight (0-8-2) - their longest slide since 2013 - but have outscored the Flyers 8-1 in a pair of victories this season and earned points in seven of the last eight meetings (6-1-1).
New Jersey, which had its game against Winnipeg on Tuesday postponed due to inclement weather, went 0-7-4 during its 11-game skid in 1990-91 and scored as many goals Saturday in a 5-4 loss at Arizona as it did over the previous five contests. Philadelphia kept alive its fading playoff hopes Wednesday by snapping a three-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory over Pittsburgh. The Flyers are five points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 13 games to go – including three against the Devils. Wayne Simmonds scored his 200th career goal in the win over the Penguins and needs one to reach 30 for the second straight season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVA, CSN Philadelphia, MSG Plus (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (32-29-8): Captain Claude Giroux also scored on Wednesday to extend his point streak to five games and reach 50 on the season – four behind team leader Jakub Voracek. Brayden Schenn registered a pair of assists and Dale Weise notched two points to end an 11-game drought Wednesday while Sean Couturier scored a goal and set up another to push his total to six points over his last six contests. Steve Mason turned aside all 23 shots he faced against Pittsburgh for his 33rd career shutout after going 1-2-1 in his previous four starts.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (25-31-12): New Jersey expects to get Travis Zajac (39 points) back in the lineup after he missed Saturday’s contest to be with his wife for the birth of their daughter. Kyle Palmieri scored a pair of goals against Arizona last time out and Taylor Hall has registered a goal and an assist in his last two games as they share the team lead with 44 points. Cory Schneider (19-22-10), who won a career-high 27 games while posting a .924 save percentage last season, is 0-5-0 with an .881 mark this month and expected to serve as the backup to Keith Kinkaid (6-9-2 overall) on Thursday.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia C Valtteri Filppula has recorded a goal and an assist with a minus-4 rating in seven games since being acquired from Tampa Bay.
2. New Jersey recalled John Quenneville from Albany and assigned fellow C Kevin Rooney to the American Hockey League club.
3. Philadelphia LW Pierre-Edouard Bellemare notched an assist Wednesday for his first point in 24 games.