NHL Hockey: New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers – Devils Favored
Team Page: New Jersey :: Philadelphia
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The New Jersey Devils are technically still on a road trip, but they got a day at home before a matchup against a rival they have dominated recently.
After a brief return to New Jersey, the Devils look to extend a seven-game winning streak against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
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favorites for todays game, the over/under has been set at 5.5 total goals (View NHL Sports Books).
The New Jersey Devils are technically still on a road trip, but they got a day at home before a matchup against a rival they have dominated recently.
After a brief return to New Jersey, the Devils look to extend a seven-game winning streak against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
The Devils (30-15-6) headed home following a 5-4 shootout loss to Atlanta on Tuesday night.
New Jersey will now conclude its four-game road trip with a contest in nearby Philadelphia (12-32-6), which has lost a franchise-record 11 straight home games. The Devils have won each of their four games against the Flyers this season – two in shootouts – and haven’t lost in this series since falling 2-1 at Philadelphia on March 21.
Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta each have 11 points during New Jersey’s seven-game win streak over the Flyers.
Elias, Gionta, Zach Parise and John Madden all scored for New Jersey on Tuesday.
Elias ended a 10-game goal-scoring drought when he scored his 17th of the season in the second period, and Parise had his first goal in 10 games. Gionta has four goals in his last four games and a team-high 24 for the season.
The Devils’ second straight loss Tuesday was disheartening for coach Claude Julien, who said he is accustomed to better defense.
"We gave up three goals on our penalty kill tonight, and we haven’t seen that in a long time," Julien said. "We were put in a situation to where we had to kill a little more than we had in the past."
It was just the third time all season Julien’s club has allowed more than one power-play goal. New Jersey has stopped 85.1 percent of its opponents’ power-play chances this season, with the Flyers converting just 14.3 percent (3-for-21) of their opportunities against the Devils.
Philadelphia’s home losing streak was extended with a 4-3 shootout loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Peter Forsberg had goals for the Flyers, who have not won at home since beating Columbus on Nov. 24.
Forsberg’s play was a bright spot, as his injured right foot seems to be improving.
"It was 10 times better than it’s been all year," Forsberg told the team’s official Web site. "It’s fun to play again and I’ve got to keep working. You should never say you played good enough in a game you lose, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction."
Forsberg, who has been mentioned in trade rumors, has two goals and 13 points in his last 10 games.
Carter, meanwhile, has scored three goals in two games to give him seven for the season. He had 23 as a rookie last season.
"The last couple of games I’ve really had my legs," Carter said.
Flyers scoring leader Simon Gagne has one goal and no assists against the Devils this season after scoring three goals in his previous four games against them.
Philadelphia is 2-26-2 when allowing the first goal of the game.
by: Gary Roberts – theSpread.com – Email Us
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