The Devils are on a small roll having completed come from behind victories against the Rangers and then the Canadiens. What do those come from behind victories have in common? David Clarkson!! He’s been a huge part of the wins this week and hopefully he can continue his hot streak as the Devils travel to one of those places we hate – Philadelphia, PA.
This will be the 4th time we meet up with the Flyers this season and to be honest, the two of those three meetings didn’t go well at all. The Devils opened the season at home against the Flyers and were shutout 3-0. They also lost to the Flyers at home 4-1 on Jan 21st. If there has been any good in the series with the Flyers this season, it’s that our only victory against them came in their building, a 4-3 shootout win on Nov 3rd. Maybe Philadelphia is exactly where we want to be today
Marty will sit which means Hedburg will get the call which will be his first since a 2-1 overtime win in Edmonton on Jan. 11. The news on Henrique seems to be positive as they say that he is getting closer to returning to the ice and while he hasn’t been ruled out against the Penguins on Sunday, he has been for the Flyers game. The list of injuries for NJ is starting to pile up.
NJ Injuries – Adam Larsson (bruised lower back) Ryan Carter (sore hand) Travis Zajac (sore left Achilles tendon) Henrik Tallinder (blood clot in left leg) Adam Henrique (groin) Bryce Salvador (ankle) but is probable.
Winning in Philly won’t be easy, it never is. The Flyers are coming off of a win against Nashville and are 6-2-2 in their last 10. As I mentioned earlier, NJ is coming off big come from behind victories against NY and Montreal and are 6-3-1 in their last 10. Philly currently sits in 4th place in the Eastern Conference (2nd in the Atlantic) with 66 points (3 behind NY and 7 ahead of NJ) while NJ sits in 7th place in the Eastern Conference (4th in the Atlantic) and sits 1 point ahead of 8th place Toronto and 3 points ahead of 9th place Washington. Points are desperately wanted by both of these teams.
I’d like to see a game where NJ doesn’t need to battle from behind. While they were able to do so against NY and Montreal, Philly to me is a much more physical team and probably would give NJ a lot tougher battle should Philly find a lead. NJ has to watch out for Giroux, who has been having a great season. The other guy that will need a little attention is James van Riemsdyk because it always seems that he raises his game whenever NJ is on the ice against him.
It certainly would be nice to keep rolling with a win this afternoon.
When it comes to NJ in Philly, how can you not think of Elias’s finest moment in their building?
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