Flyers at Devils
The Philadelphia Flyers saw their second late-season surge in as many years derailed to find themselves on the wrong side of the playoff picture for the third time in five years. The Flyers look to pick up the pieces on Tuesday when they begin to play out the string against the host New Jersey Devils, who have missed the postseason in all five of those campaigns since advancing to the Stanley Cup final in 2012.
"Any team can look back and say coulda, woulda, shoulda. We've just been, as a team we've been inconsistent," Brayden Schenn said, per the Courier-Post, after Philadelphia became the first team in NHL history to miss the playoffs during a season in which it had a 10-game winning streak. The 25-year-old has been consistent of late after extending his point streak to five games in Sunday's 4-3 setback to the New York Rangers and point total to 12 (six goals, six assists) in his last 12 contests. Schenn has scored a goal in a pair of meetings in that stretch with the Devils, who have dropped six in a row (0-4-2) and 18 of 20 (2-14-4) to make themselves comfortable in the cellar of the Metropolitan Division. New Jersey's 28th-ranked offense has mustered just 31 goals in its last 16 contests, with Saturday's 3-0 setback to Philadelphia serving as the fourth time it has been shut out in that stretch.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, MSG-Plus (New Jersey), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE FLYERS (38-33-8): Philadelphia is expected to take a longer look at the future and send Anthony Stolarz back into the crease on Tuesday. The 6-foot-6 New Jersey native acquitted himself well in relief of Michal Neuvirth on Saturday by turning aside all 26 shots he faced against the Devils before getting rattled after a defensive miscue the following day against the Rangers. Hobey Baker finalist Mike Vecchione was signed on Friday and could make his NHL debut versus New Jersey while former Union teammate Shayne Gostisbehere is riding a five-game point streak (one goal, six assists), including setting up a tally in Saturday's victory over the Devils.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (27-37-14): Kyle Palmieri (team-leading 25 goals), Adam Henrique and Taylor Hall (club-best 32 assists, 51 points) feasted on Philadelphia in the first three encounters this season, with the first two players each scoring three goals and setting up another while the latter has two tallies and two assists. All three members of the triumvirate recorded two-point performances in New Jersey's 6-2 win on March 16, with Hall and Henrique scoring twice while Palmieri had a goal and an assist. Two of Palmieri's tallies this season came on the power play against the Flyers as New Jersey erupted for five goals with the man advantage versus Philadelphia, but is just 1-for-13 in its last five games overall.
OVERTIME
1. New Jersey G Keith Kinkaid, who has been confirmed to start Tuesday, has turned aside 52 of 55 shots to win both his starts versus Philadelphia this season.
2. Flyers RW Wayne Simmonds (team-leading 30 goals) has failed to record a point in all four meetings with the Devils this season.
3. New Jersey D Dalton Prout was handed a two-game suspension by the NHL on Monday for interference on Philadelphia D Radko Gudas.