Devils Host Flyers for First Meeting This Season | PREVIEW

NEW JERSEY DEVILS (26-15-6) vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (20-20-6)

New Jersey looks to get back on track against the Philadelphia Flyers in a matinee game. Saturday's game is the first of two Next Generation Weekend games presented by RWJBarnabas Health.

You can watch on MSGSN or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below. Today's game is presented by Complete Mechanical Solutions.

MORNING SKATE RECAP

NEWARK, N.J. - The Devils are prepared to face division rival Philadelphia. One lineup change of note is that forward Brian Halonen will make his season debut.

“He shoots the puck hard. He can score goals. Strong, heavy on the puck,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Halonen. “Those are the traits. He scored at the American League level. We’ll give him an opportunity today and see what he can bring to our group.”

Mr. 500

The game against the Flyers will be Devils captain Nico Hischier’s 500^th career game. Hischier was the No. 1-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft by New Jersey.

“He’s a quiet leader. Leads by example,” Keefe said. “Has a tremendous amount of respect from his teammates. That’s earned by the work that he does on the ice. He doesn’t get any easy minutes. He’s going against hard competition. He’s taking lots of face-offs, many on his off-side. He doesn’t complain. Head down, goes out and does the work. I’ve enjoyed coaching him.”

Scouting the Flyers

The Devils are facing the Flyers for the first time this season. It’s odd to face a divisional opponent this late in the year. It’ll also be the first of three games played by the two squads over the next two weeks.

Keefe gave a scout of Philly.

“The last 20 games they’ve been as good as anybody in the league with the puck, without the puck,” Keefe said. “Perhaps the deepest forward group in terms of lines 1 through 4. It looks the same, feels the same shift to shift. Lots of speed and skill. Lots to contend with. They play hard.

“We’ll have to play at a high level and recognize that there are lots of really good teams in the league and this is one.”

Close Games

The Devils have played a lot of one-goal games of late. Their last four straight games have all gone into overtime or longer.

“We’ve found ways to get points of late. Kept it close enough to get to overtime. I’ve liked that,” Keefe said. “We haven’t scored enough, which is ultimately why we haven’t been able to pull away in games. We haven’t been able to get comfortable leads. We got one point instead of two.”

THE SCOOP

The Devils enter a weekend of back-to-back matinee games looking to pick up two home wins. Despite winning only two of their last five games, New Jersey has points in each of those contests (2-0-3). In their most recent game, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Captain Nico Hischier had two power play goals while Jack Hughes also scored. New Jersey has seen improved play in their last five games and will look to win in regulation after going into extra minutes for their last four straight.

Captain Nico Hischier leads the Devils with 22 goals, is tied for fourth with 17 assists, and is third with 39 points. Jack Hughes is second on the team with goals (18) and is tied with Jesper Bratt for most-assists on the Devils (37). Hughes leads New Jersey with 55 points. Bratt's 52 points are second on the team while his 15 goals are fourth. Jacob Markstrom has played the last six straight for the Devils and has suited up for 34 of the Devils' 47 games this season. He has a 21-8-5 record, is averaging 2.20 goals against, and has a .913 save percentage. Jake Allen makes up the second half of the goaltending tandem. He has a 5-7-1 record through his 13 games played. He's averaging 2.83 goals against and has a .901 save percentage.

Scoring 28.8% of the time, the Devils power play is third in the NHL while the penalty kill is 10th, killing penalties 82.2% of the time. New Jersey is allowing the fifth fewest goals per game, averaging 2.53 goals against per contest. New Jersey scores the 11th most goals in the NHL, averaging 3.11 per game. On Friday, the Devils placed forward Erik Haula on the IR and recalled defenseman Colton White from the Utica Comets. Earlier this week, New Jersey also recalled forward Brian Halonen from the Comets. Saturday is the first of three straight games at home with New Jersey hosting the Ottawa Senators Sunday afternoon and the Boston Bruins next Wednesday.

The Flyers enter Saturaday with points in four-straight and they've gone 3-1-1 in their last five games. Philadelphia saw five different goal scorers in their most recent game, a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders. In addition, this recent stretch of improved play snapped a four-game losing streak to start 2025.

Travis Konecny leads Philadelphia with 20 goals, 33 assists, and 53 points. In addition, Konecny has eight points, all assists, in his last five games, including three against the Islanders in the team's last outing. Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov are tied for second with 13 goals, while Michkov's 19 assists and 32 points are second on the team, an impressive showing in his rookie campaign. Tippett's 28 points are third on the Flyers. Currently the Flyers are carrying three goaltenders on their roster with Samuel Ersson carrying the majority of the workload. Ersson has played 23 games this season and has a 12-7-2 record. He's averaging 2.87 goals against per game and has a .888 save percentage.

Philadelphia allows the fifth-most goals in the NHL, averaging 3.41 goals per game. They're scoring the 13th most in the league, 3.04 goals for per game played. The Flyers power play is 28th (16%) while the penalty kill is 22nd (77.5%). Following Saturday's game in New Jersey, the Flyers return home to host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night before heading to New York for a back-to-back between the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders.

WHO’S HOT

Devils: Captain Nico Hischier has three goals in his last two games, including two power play goals Thursday night against the Maple Leafs. Hischier has hit a new career-high in power play goals over a single season (8) with runway left on the year. Hischier leads the Devils with 22 goals and is third with 39 points.

Flyers: Garnet Hathaway has three goals and four total points in his last four games. Hathaway's most recent goal was a shorthanded tally versus the Islanders. Hathaway's heating up as he's recorded half of his goals this season in these last four games.

INJURIES

Devils: Noesen (illness), Haula (ankle, IR), Hatakka (shoulder, IR)

Flyers: Poehling (upper-body), Deslauriers (upper-body, IR), Makiniemi (abdomen, month-to-month), Ellis (back, LTIR)

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

• Jan. 18 vs Flyers
• Jan. 27 at Flyers
• Jan. 29 vs Flyers
• Mar. 9 at Flyers

GAME NOTES

• The Flyers are three points back from the Boston Bruins who currently hold the second wild card spot. Philadelphia is nine points back from the Carolina Hurricanes, who are third in the Metropolitan Division, with one more game played.
• The Devils are second in the Metropolitan Division with 58 points through 47 games played. New Jersey is seven points behind the Washington Capitals with two more games played.
• Despite averaging just above three goals a game, Philadelphia has scored four or more in three of their last four games, outscoring its opponents 17 to nine in that span.
• New Jersey is allowing the third-fewest shots on goal in the NHL (25.9) only behind the Carolina Hurricanes (25) and the Los Angeles Kings (24.8).