Flyers, Devils aim to get offenses on track

DEVILS (3-7-4) at FLYERS (4-9-1)

TV: MSG PLUS, CSN-PH

Last 10: New Jersey 3-6-1; Philadelphia 3-6-1

Season series: It's the second meeting in a week between the Metropolitan Division rivals. On Nov. 2 Brayden Schenn scored the game's only goal and Ray Emery made 14 saves for a 1-0 win by the Philadelphia Flyers against the New Jersey Devils.

Big story: Neither team has done much offensively recently. The Flyers have one goal in each of their past two games and are 30th in the League at 1.57 goals per game. The Devils have been shut out in two straight and are 28th in the League at 1.86 goals per game.

Team Scope:

Devils: The Devils could have a vital cog in their offense back for their game Thursday.

Travis Zajac practiced Wednesday and will be in the lineup against the Flyers, according to general manager Lou Lamoriello.

Zajac sprained his ankle during a fall at practice last week.

The center has one goal and three assists in 12 games, but generally has played well against the Flyers, with 27 points in 39 games.

In addition, defenseman Anton Volchenkov, who sat out the Devils' loss at the Minnesota Wild on Sunday due to a lower-body injury, will also return to the lineup.

Flyers: After watching his team score one goal or fewer for the eighth time in 14 games this season during a 2-1 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, Flyers coach Craig Berube again switched his lines in a quest to discover some sort of offense.

The top line Wednesday featured Claude Giroux centering Scott Hartnell and Jakub Voracek, with a second line of Vincent Lecavalier back at center, between Brayden Schenn and Matt Read.

"At some point they need to start producing," Berube said. "I think guys in and out of the lineup with injury, we had to move guys around a little bit. These guys are familiar with each other. They've played well together before. I expect them to get out of it and start playing well."

The Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek combo has been together frequently the past two seasons, so there's hope something positive could come of it, at least for Giroux.

"Me, Jake and Hartsy had chemistry before," said Giroux, who now has gone 20 games, dating to last season, without a goal. "You know a little bit more what a guy's going to do with the puck. You know where he's going to be. Sometimes you don't have to look and you know he's going to be there."

Who's hot: Emery's success against the Devils last time out shouldn't be a surprise. In 10 previous games against New Jersey he was 5-3-2 with a 2.08 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and one shutout.

Injury report: Flyers forward Steve Downie is day-to-day with a concussion. … Devils defensemen Bryce Salvador (foot) and Jone Merrill (face) and forwards Patrik Elias (upper body) and Ryane Clowe (concussion) are out.

---