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The Sports Network
(Sports Network) - A pair of Atlantic Division rivals will collide this
afternoon in Philadelphia, as the Flyers welcome the New Jersey Devils for a
battle at the Wells Fargo Center.
This marks the fourth of six scheduled tilts between the clubs this year. The
Flyers are 2-0-1 against the Devils so far and Philly has claimed five of
eight and eight of the last 12 encounters in this series. New Jersey has won
its last two at the Wells Fargo Center, including a 4-3 shootout decision when
the teams met on Nov. 3.
The Flyers enter today as the fourth seed in the East and are also three
points behind the New York Rangers for the top spot in the Atlantic. The
Devils are seven points behind Philadelphia and are hanging onto the seventh
seed in the East.
The Devils have won their last two games after heading into the All-Star break
on a three-game slide. New Jersey's latest victory came Thursday against
Montreal, as the Devils capped a six-game homestand by defeating the
Canadiens, 5-3.
Zach Parise's second goal of the game snapped a 3-3 tie with 2:44 to play in
the third period and David Clarkson added an empty-netter in the final minute
to seal the win for the Devils. Jersey came back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1
in the victory.
Clarkson had two goals and an assist, Dainius Zubrus added a goal and two
assists and Martin Brodeur made 27 saves in the win.
"We started off slow and it was tough to come back from," said Clarkson. "But
I think these guys showed what we're made of tonight. This was a good win."
The Devils, who are 14-10-1 as the road team this year, lost rookie defenseman
Adam Larsson to a back injury on Thursday and he won't play today. Larsson --
the fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft -- sustained the injury on a big hit
by Montreal's P.K. Subban. Devils forward Ryan Carter also suffered a hand
injury in the win over the Habs and will miss this afternoon's test.
Forward Travis Zajac (Achilles) and Adam Henrique (groin) will also sit out
today's game for the Devils.
The Flyers have alternated losses and wins over their last eight games, but
the club has notched a point in five straight, going 3-0-2 over that stretch.
Peter Laviolette's squad posted a 4-1 decision Thursday against Nashville in
the second test of a three-game homestand that will end today.
Wayne Simmonds scored twice and Ilya Bryzgalov made 26 saves to help the
Flyers improve to 12-7-4 as the host this year.
"I don't know, I guess I like playing against them," said Simmonds, who posted
four points in two games against the Predators this season. "Our line tonight
did really well and the same goes for the last game as well."
Matt Read also tallied and Claude Giroux saw a lengthy goal drought ended for
the Flyers, who shook off a shootout loss at home to Winnipeg on Tuesday. For
Giroux, who leads Philly with 57 points, it was his first goal since Jan. 2
and his 19th of the season.
The Flyers hope to get forwards Danny Briere and James Van Riemsdyk back soon
from concussions, but neither player is expected to play today. Briere is
believed to be closer to returning than van Riemsdyk, but he has still yet to
be cleared for contact.
The Sports Network