G25 New Jersey Devils vs Philadelphia Flyers: Time to respond

The Devils let a win slip from their grasp in the dying seconds against the Predators. How will they follow up?

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A few notes to get you set for tonight’s game between New Jersey and Philadelphia:

Patience is key

These two teams are on opposite trajectories. The Devils have lost only once in regulation over the last 10 games and, at 5v5, lead the league in expected goal share.

The Philadelphia Flyers have won only once in that span and sit 26th in expected goal share.

Having lost so many games of late – many of which by multiple goals – you can bet the Flyers will be trying to tighten the screws in order to get a result.

John Tortorella teams generally play hard-nosed, lower-event games and the Flyers will no doubt lean even heavier on that gameplan against the Devils. They know they can’t trade chances and keep up; they have to keep things tight.

Although the Flyers have piled up the losses of late, there are some signs they’re starting to do that again.

At 5v5 the Flyers rank 6th in shots on goal against per 60 over the last 10 games. They rank 15th in attempts against. So, they’re giving up attempts at a decent rate; but they’re doing a good job of getting in the lanes to ensure those attempts don’t make their way to Carter Hart.

I think patience is going to be important in this one. If the Flyers have their way, they’re always going to be on top of Devils puck carriers and taking lanes away. No easy entries, no easy shots.

The Devils can’t get frustrated. They’re going to have to complete multiple passes in quick succession to get by the layers of the defense, and they’re going to have to be patient waiting for lanes to open up in the offensive zone.

If they get frustrated and try to dance multiple defenders in the neutral zone, or force shots into traffic, the Flyers are going to take the puck the other way and cause problems in transition.

Everyone knows the Devils are the far better team but, given the way the Flyers will try and play, it might take some time for that to shine through. Stick with it.