FLYERS vs DEVILS | PRE-SCOUT | GAME #30

Hey everyone,

Yes, it stings for the Devils that they weren’t able to get the win Sunday, as 2 PTS would’ve sent the dads home in a playoff spot, and, a chance for NJD to jump PHI in the Metro standings tonight.Regardless, four points are on the line tonight at the Rock. I expect another fight tonight due to Hathaway's hit on Luke in the first meeting between these two teams. Maybe, it will be McLeod, who fought the Flyers in both games at home vs. PHI last season!It is no secret at this point that the Devils have struggled immensely on the second half of their back-to-back sets this season.Now, it's also evident that Akira has had lots of difficulties wrestling with these second-half scenarios, as he has started in all 6 of the Devils’ losses; Vitek picking up the only win in his one start. (VV's lone loss came in relief of Akira on Oct. 25 vs. WSH).
Sunday night's situation (Vitek physically unable to play) left Akira thrown into the fire again, so, by no means am I pointing fingers at Schmeedo here. The bottom line is, we may see coach Ruff continue to elect to play Vitek on the second night of back-to-back sets going forward, as he planned on doing this past weekend.

The tough part of this storyline for the Devils is the fact they still have 9 of these back-to-back sets remaining, as part of their league-high 16 sets on the season.

Their next test will come on Dec. 29 & Dec. 30 in OTT/BOS. This will all certainly be a major storyline headed into Boston, as the Devils will look to close out the calendar year on a high and win their 2nd game of the season in back-half scenarios.The only Devils’ line running their motor throughout the entirety of Sunday’s game vs. ANA was the 4th line. These three were tremendous at 5v5 and were the only trio able to execute for NJD.

Here’s our graphic from the postgame show of their nights, individually.
As far as 4th lines are concerned in the NHL, you can’t ask for much more than what Lazar, McLeod, and Bastian bring to the table, night in and night out. They take pride in their play away from the puck, extend plays in the OZ, and all play the penalty kill.

Defensively, they have suppressed their opposition WOI at 5v5 better than essentially any other full-time line in the league, to this point.
Their importance in the lineup is only going to increase this week, with a heavy Flyers team coming to town tonight, then, an opportunity on home ice to be line-matched against the Oilers’ superstars on Thursday.
Something you may have noticed within the 4th line’s individual stats from Sunday: Michael McLeod was a perfect 12/12 in the faceoff circle.

As we stand, Mikey has taken the throne as the NHL’s Faceoff Win % leader, putting up an outstanding 64.7% success rate in the dot this season.

In the defensive zone alone, NJD#20 has been lights out. Along with Nico’s 63.2 DZ FO% (#4), McLeod’s 68.4 DZ FO% is, also, the #1 rate in the NHL. When you look at those numbers, it comes as no surprise that the Devils have the #1 team FO% in the DZ this season. As a direct result, NJD is conceding the 3rd least OZ Possession Time per game (5:47).
Coming into tonight, PHI is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Their 47.1 FO% ranks them 5th worst in the NHL; their 45.8 DZ FO% T-3rd worst; while giving up the 11th most OZ Possession time per game (6:55). Hopefully, the Devils can wear them down and get them away from their area of strength, that being chance prevention.
The Flyers, winners in 7 of their last 10 games (7-1-2 in L10 games) are playing some uncomfortable hockey as of late. 6 of their last 10 games have required overtime, where they've come away with 1x OTW, 3x SOW, and 2x OTL (one vs. the Devils).

On the road, the Flyers are also winners in 7 of their last 10 games (7-2-1 in L10 road games). Through this stretch, their special teams have been polar opposites. Their PK at 91.4% (32/35) ranks 4th best, while their PP has been abysmal at 4.3% (1/23), the worst in the NHL of teams' last 10 road games.

As for PHI's game as a whole, they are nowhere near as lethal as the Devils from an offensive standpoint. They do, however, create rush chances at a similar rate to the Devils, so, NJD will have to be committed to respecting and defending the PHI's rush game tonight.
PHI’s strength is absolutely in their defensive game. It’s been quite impressive how well this team has defended under first-year coach John Tortorella. They've been backed by some rock-solid goaltending between Carter Hart and his backup, Samuel Ersson, who have aided the Flyers to a .911 Tm SV% (#9); 2.55 GAA (#8); 19 quality starts (#4); and 5 steals (#7).

In PHI's last 10 road games, they've gotten a .932 Tm SV% from Hart, Ersson, and third-string goaltender Cal Peterson.

Hart, PHI’s projected starter for tonight, has historically played some of his best hockey in Prudential Center against the Devils. The 25-year-old has started 5 games at the Rock in his career and has gone 3-2-0, posting a remarkable .938 SV% & 2.01 GAA. Both his SV% and GAA are his best against any opponent (with 2+ starts) on the road.Last time Hart came to the Rock (Dec. 15, 2022), he absolutely robbed the Devils of any points, stopping 48 of the 49 shots that came his way (.980 SV%) for a 2-1 PHI regulation W. The only NJD goal scorer that night was Jack Hughes.

Our MSGSN pregame show starts at 6:30 PM!
-Sal