Flyers-Devils Preview: Philly Looking for a Better Outcome; Lycksell Recalled

The Philadelphia Flyers are ready for payback when they take on the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

It is also yet another chance for the Flyers to break a losing streak that has stretched to four games. The Devils are in a similar position as the two will meet at the Prudential Center. It is a 7 p.m. matchup and will be on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The Devils (21-6-2) were on the wrong end of a 4-1 final against the Dallas Stars. Miles Wood scored the only goal for New Jersey, as it has lost its last three games.

The Flyers (9-14-7) are coming off a tight 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Despite scoring the first goal, Philadelphia gave up the next three and couldn’t crawl back despite heavy pressure.

Cam York continued his strong play since being called up. He scored the game’s first goal, something the Flyers don’t often do.

“It felt good, my confidence has been high. I think the goal definitely helps,” he said. “Hopefully it continues to help my game.”

The structure of this team continues to be a popular topic as the Flyers look to find a way to play more consistently.  Coach John Tortorella wasn’t fully pleased with the effort Tuesday. There were some bad moments in the second period in which the team was sloppy.

“I think in the second period, we iced the puck a lot,” Tortorella said. “We turned the puck over. For the first 10-12 minutes of that period, we were in our own endzone.”

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It was a little under two weeks ago when the Flyers had costly mistakes in an otherwise strong game. They lost to the Devils, 3-2, despite controlling a large portion of the game. Travis Konecny scored a rare power-play goal while Lukas Sedlak got on the board as well.

However, a rare gaffe from Carter Hart, who misplayed a puck behind the net allowed the Devils to take the lead in the third period. He’ll be in the net once again, his eighth start in the last nine games.

The Devils have scored the sixth-most goals (104) and given up the third-fewest goals (71) this season. The Flyers are 29th in goals scored (72) while giving up 98. Scoring will be a must as they’ll have to force New Jersey to do something it rarely has done. And that’s giving up more than two goals a game.

Breakaways

The Flyers placed Tony DeAngelo on non-roster status as he deals with a family matter. Winger Olle Lycksell, 23, was called up from the Phantoms, where he had 16 points (5-11) in 16 games. He was a Flyers sixth-round draft selection in 2017. … Zack MacEwen is expected to return to the lineup. … Joel Farabee has seven goals in his career against the Devils. … New Jersey goaltender Vitek Vanecek (12-2-2) has a 2.39 GAA and a .912 save percentage, while Hart (8-8-6) has a 2.84 GAA and a .909 save percentage. … The Devils have won the last four games against the Philadelphia Flyers at home.

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