On Saturday, Nov. 22, the New Jersey Devils are preparing to take on the Philadelphia Flyers for the last game of their five-game road trip. It started off strong, beating the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime and then the Washington Capitals in a shootout. However, the last two games have not gone in the Devils’ favor. They lost 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning and were shut out 1-0 by the Florida Panthers. With the last game on the road on the horizon, the Devils will look to get back to their winning ways.
Related: Devils News & Rumors: Jack Hughes Update, Markstrom Struggles, Deadline Targets
This game marks the second of two games at home for the Flyers. They beat the St. Louis Blues in overtime on Thursday, Nov. 20. Now, they’ll look to end the homestand with a similar victorious result.
Devils Storylines
Ahead of their game on Saturday, the Devils announced on Monday that they have sent defenseman Ethan Edwards back to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utica Comets. Edwards joined the back half of the Devils’ road trip down to Florida. The young defenseman did not see any playing time, so he will have to wait until he can play in his first NHL game a little longer.
However, it’s a good thing that he was sent back to the AHL. He was mostly called up due to Brenden Dillon and Dougie Hamilton potentially still being injured, but the two defensemen have been on the ice for the last two games. This is a great sign, especially with all the injuries the Devils are already facing. They can’t afford to lose anyone else on the blue line, and definitely not these two.
Brenden Dillon, New Jersey Devils (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
The player to watch in this game is Connor Brown. He was activated off of injured reserve (IR)Â on Nov. 18 and has played the last two games with the Devils. He has been a solid member of the top six in his last two games; now, if he could just help his linemates, or himself, get on the board.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 13-6-1
Top Scorers:
Jack Hughes – 10 goals (G), 10 assists (A), 20 points (P)
Jesper Bratt – 5 G, 13 A, 18 P
Dawson Mercer – 9 G, 7 A, 16 P
Timo Meier – 5 G, 9 A, 14 P
Nico Hischier – 4 G, 9 A, 13 P
Goalie Stats:
Jake Allen – 7-3-0, 2.13 goals-against average (GAA), .920 save percentage (SV%)
Jacob Markstrom – 5-3-1, 3.83 GAA, .864 SV%
Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
Philadelphia Flyers
Season Record: 10-6-3
Top Scorers:
Trevor Zegras – 6 G, 14 A, 20 P
Travis Konecny – 5 G, 11 A, 16 P
Christian Dvorak – 6 G, 7 A, 13 P
Owen Tippett – 6 G, 6 A, 12 P
Sean Couturier – 2 G, 9 A, 11 P
Goalie Stats:
Dan Vladar – 7-4-1, 2.37 GAA, .911 SV%
Samuel Ersson – 3-1-2, 3.30 GAA, .846 SV%
Aleksei Kolosov – 0-1-0, 1.62 GAA, .929 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
New Jersey Devils
Arseni Gritsyuk — Nico Hischier — Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier — Dawson Mercer — Connor Brown
Ondrej Palat — Juho Lammikko — Evgenii Dadonov
Paul Cotter — Luke Glendening — Stefan Noesen
Jonas Siegenthaler — Simon Nemec
Brenden Dillon — Luke Hughes
Dennis Cholowski — Dougie Hamilton
Jake Alen
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Shane Lachance, Colton White
Injured: Jack Hughes, Cody Glass, Zack MacEwen, Marc McLaughlin, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brett Pesce
Philadelphia Flyers
Tyson Foerster — Noah Cates — Travis Konecny
Matvei Michkov — Sean Couturier — Bobby Brink
Trevor Zegras — Christian Dvorak — Owen Tippett
Nicolas Deslauriers — Rodrigo Abols — Garnet Hathaway
Cam York — Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler — Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae — Noah Juulsen
Dan Vladar
Samuel Ersson
Scratched: Nikita Grebenkin, Egor Zamula, Adam Ginning
Injured: Oliver Bonk, Rasmus Ristolainen
Next Up for the Devils
The Devils will head back to the Prudential Center and get ready to host the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, Nov. 24.
