Flyers at Devils preview

FLYERS (24-18-8) at DEVILS (25-16-8)
7 p.m. ET; MSG+, NBCSP, NHL.TV

Goaltender
Alex Lyon
is expected to make his first NHL start for the Flyers, who are fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 56 points and hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Lyon, 25, signed as a free agent on April 5, 2016, stopped all five shots faced in relief of Michal Neuvirth during a 5-3 loss at the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
The Flyers defeated the Devils 5-3 at Prudential Center on Jan. 13 and 3-1 at Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 20.
The Devils, third in the division with 58 points, ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win at the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. Goalie Keith Kinkaid is expected to make his second straight start after making 27 saves in Buffalo. The Devils are one point behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins and have three games in hand.

Players to watch

Flyers forward Travis Konecny has a five-game goal streak and six-game point streak (five goals, two assists).
Devils forward Taylor Hall has an eight-game point streak (six goals, seven assists).

They said it

"It's just all about confidence. I think every goalie in the AHL and NHL has similar tools and it's just all about mentality and that confidence. Everything's been going really well since I've been here; I'm just going to focus on the process and trust in it." -- Flyers goalie Alex Lyon
"The biggest thing I've seen (in two losses against the Flyers this season) has been urgency. I think it showed in the way the Flyers pursued pucks and how they forechecked. The challenge for us is understanding where both of us are in the standings, understanding the magnitude of these games, and making sure we're ready to play at the drop of the puck." -- Devils defenseman John Moore

Flyers projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Travis Konecny
Jakub Voracek -- Nolan Patrick -- Wayne Simmonds
Jordan Weal -- Valtteri Filppula -- Michael Raffl
Tyrell Goulbourne
-- Scott Laughton -- Jori Lehtera
Ivan Provorov -- Shayne Gostisbehere
Robert Hagg -- Andrew MacDonald
Brandon Manning -- Radko Gudas
Alex Lyon
Michal Neuvirth
Scratched:Dale Weise, Taylor Leier, Mark Alt
Injured:Brian Elliott (lower body)

Devils projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Miles Wood
-- Pavel Zacha -- Kyle Palmieri
Blake Coleman -- Travis Zajac -- Stefan Noesen
Drew Stafford -- Brian Boyle
Andy Greene -- Sami Vatanen
John Moore -- Damon Severson
Will Butcher -- Ben Lovejoy
Mirco Mueller
Keith Kinkaid
Ken Appleby
Scratched:Steven Santini, Jimmy Hayes
Injured:Marcus Johansson (undisclosed), Cory Schneider (groin), Brian Gibbons (thumb)

Status report

Schneider skated Thursday for the first time since he was injured on Jan. 23. Johansson did not skate; Gibbons will miss another 3-5 weeks.

Stat pack

Couturier has 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in the past 15 games. Giroux has 23 points (goal, 22 assists) in the past 19 games. Voracek has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in the past 11 games. ... Kinkaid is 3-1-1 with a 2.33 goals-against average in his past five starts.