NEW JERSEY DEVILS (33-25-6) vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (27-29-8)

New Jersey are in Philadelphia for an afternoon matchup against the Flyers.

You can watch on TNT, TRUTV, Max or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below. Tonight's game is presented by Diversified Rack & Shelving.

MORNING SKATE RECAP

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Devils did not hold a morning skate due to the early puck drop in Philadelphia. However, head coach Sheldon Keefe did meet with the media prior to the game. Here are some of the key takeaways from that availability.

New Guys

Keefe confirmed that recently acquired forwards Daniel Sprong and Cody Glass and defenseman Dennis Cholowski will all make their Devils’ debuts in this afternoon’s contest against the Flyers.

“We’ll see how it all comes together,” Keefe said. “The guys that we bring in are highly motivated people. Glass wants to take advantage of a new opportunity. Sprong and Cholowiski had been in the American Hockey League and want to show that they belong in the NHL and have lots to prove in that sense.”

Lineup

Jake Allen will start in goal. The Devils used the following workflow at Saturday’s practice.

The team is healthy scratching forwards Paul Cotter and Justin Dowling. They’ll ice a line featuring Sprong, Glass and Erik Haula.

“We hope we have another line that can drive play,” Keefe said of the triumvirate. “We’d like to see them score and produce on offense. But more importantly if they can drive play, having another line driving play helps everybody else’s life a little easier.

“Having an infusion of Glass and Sprong, hopefully can drive more play. Sprong is certainly a finisher. If he gets a chance we like his ability to be able to score. That takes a little bit of heat off the other guys and allow our game to be a little more in sync.”

The coaching staff has really liked the play of the Tomas Tatar-Curtis Lazar-Nathan Bastian line of late. So, they wanted to keep them together.

“With the Lazar, Bastian and Tatar line, when we’ve had them together over the last couple of months have been consistent in terms of driving play and getting in on the forecheck and spending time in the offensive zone,” Keefe said. “That’s why I like the look of that line and what they provide us.”

Odd-Man Out

The Devils have a lot of depth and competition in their bottom-6 with the recent additions. With that, some tough decisions have to be made. The team is scratching Cotter, and it’s something Keefe spoke to him about.

“’Cotts’ has the ability to be a finisher, if he gets one scoring chance he can score for us,” Keefe said. “But there are lots of other areas of his game that are really lacking right now that are allowing us to have sustained pressure and keep our game and keep going.
“We need better from him and he’s going to be an important guy down the stretch. A little bit of a reset for him. We met yesterday and made it clear on what he needs to bring for us because he is an important guy and we need to have him rolling. And the reality is each line that I’ve had him on here of late has gotten a little worse. So, it’s been real hard to find a home for him. … He’s the odd-man out right now.”

--Sam Kasan

THE SCOOP

The Devils will look to recover from a disappointing 6-1 loss to the league-leading Winnipeg Jets when they visit the Flyers on Sunday afternoon. Based on Saturday's practice, the Devils will be making some lineup changes heading into the matchup. Newcomers Cody Glass, Daniel Sprong and Dennis Cholowski appear all set to make their Devils debuts.

At practice, Glass centered the third line with Erik Haula on his left and Sprong on his right, while Cholowski paired up with Brenden Dillon on defense. With these new players entering the lineup, three players will be coming out. Simon Nemec skated on an extra defensive pairing on Sunday, while Paul Cotter and Justin Dowling appear to be the odd-men out on the forward lines. Brian Dumoulin, who was acquired a day before the deadline, played his first game with New Jersey against Winnipeg and continued to be paired with Johnathan Kovacevic at practice.

The Devils have just 18 games left in the regular season.

The Flyers got a head start on their deadline changes in late January when they shipped Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to the Calgary Flames for Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier. On Friday, they made another big change is sending long-time Flyer Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2027 first-round pick and prospect Nikita Grebenkin. They also sent veteran defenseman Erik Johnson to the Colorado Avalanche for winger Givani Smith.

The Flyers will be on the second half of a back-to-back when they host New Jersey. Philadelphia lost 4-1 to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday afternoon. The Flyers had the 1-0 lead heading into the second period on a goal by Owen Tippett, his 19th goal of the season.

Philadelphia sit six points out of a Wild Card spot with 62 points and a 27-29-8 record.

WHO’S HOT

Devils: Luke Hughes has taken on a much larger role, especially in the absence of Dougie Hamilton. He’s been eating up big, important minutes. Hughes has six points in his last six games, all assists and is averaging 23:18 time on ice per game.

Flyers: Rookie Matvei Michkov had an assist against the Kraken to give him 11 points (4g,7a) in seven games.

INJURIES

Devils: J. Hughes (shoulder, LTIR), Siegenthaler (undisclosed, LTIR), Hamilton (undisclosed, week-to-week)

Flyers: Hathaway (upper-body, out), Makiniemi (abdomen, out), Ellis (back, LTIR)

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

• Jan. 18 vs. Philadelphia, 3-1, L
• Jan. 27 at Philadelphia, 4-2 L
• Jan. 29 vs. Philadelphia, 5-0 W
• Mar. 8 at Philadelphia

--Amanda Stein

GAME NOTES

• Timo Meier (1g-2a) and Jesper Bratt (0g-3a) lead the Devils in points against the Flyers this season with three each.
• Cody Glass, Daniel Sprong and Dennis Cholowski are expected to make their Devils debuts against the Flyers
• The Flyers currently lead the season series with two wins and a loss. The Devils have not lost a season series against Philadelphia since 2019-20, after recording a 1-1-1 record vs the Flyers.
• Ivan Fedotov is expected to start after Sam Ersson played against the Kraken on Saturday, making 29 saves in a 4-1 loss.