Last night, the New Jersey Devils understood the assignment versus the Philadelphia Flyers (23-23-6). The Devils dictated the pace and physicality, particularly in the second period, en route to a 5-0 shutout of the Flyers. John Tortorella subbed Sam Ersson with Ivan Fedotov, and Owen Tippett never returned after an open-ice hit from Brenden Dillon.
The home-and-home featuring New Jersey morphed into a back-to-back including the New York Islanders (22-20-7). A head-to-head battle with the Islanders could become chippy, especially with the hit Maxim Tsyplakov put on Ryan Poehling (upper body) lingering in recent memory.
Philadelphia is 1-1-0 versus the Islanders this season.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Islanders (-142) are the favorites at the Wells Fargo Center. A side-by-side comparison suggests the Flyers are the higher-scoring, more special teams savvy club. Philadelphia is usually strong at the faceoff dot, but not in this matchup. If they’re willing to get back into the win column, they’ll need to take advantage of the powerplay and keep tight on the penalty kill. An 0/4 powerplay and 1/3 penalty kill made life miserable against the Devils.
When: 1/30/25; 7:30pm/ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast Info: ESPN+/Hulu; Flyers Radio 24/7
Last Game PHI: 1/29/25; 5-0 L; at New Jersey Devils
Last Game NYI: 1/28/25; 5-2 W; vs. Colorado Avalanche
Philadelphia Flyers
Fedotov (4-6-3, 3.22GAA, 88%SV) will start. He was starting the back end of a back-to-back regardless of last night. When he took over for Ersson in New Jersey, Fedotov saved 9/10 shots on goal. Fedotov did slow the Devils’ onslaught.
When these rivals last met, Fedotov started. The Islanders declared victory, 3-1. Fedotov saved 24/27 shots on goal, but after Tyson Foerster established an early lead, Anthony Duclair, Bo Horvat, and Brock Nelson led a winning charge.
Garnet Hathaway (7G, 10A, 40.9%CF) will carry the Flyers into battle. If there is turbulence, Hathaway usually makes the waves. He baits opponents into penalties. Philadelphia converts 16% (28th) of their powerplays, and they’ll face the worst penalty kill in the NHL (68.9%; 32nd).
Adam Ginning enters the lineup. The Flyers recalled him earlier today. Last season, Ginning dressed for Philadelphia in 9GP (14:09ATOI, 1G, 9BLK, 18HIT, 6GV:2TK, 55.9%FF), and this season 42GP with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
“He’s [Ginning] been playing well. We’ve been wanting to take a look at him. I don’t want to play EJ [Johnson] back-to-back. [It] gives us a chance to look at another kid down there [in Lehigh Valley].” – John Tortorella; 1/30/2025
Projected Lineups: Philadelphia Flyers
#86 Joel Farabee – #48 Morgan Frost – #11 Travis Konecny
#21 Scott Laughton – #14 Sean Couturier – #39 Matvei Michkov
#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #10 Bobby Brink
#90 Anthony Richard – #18 Rodrigo Ābols – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#6 Travis Sanheim – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#8 Cam York – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#24 Nick Seeler – #13 Adam Ginning
#82 Ivan Fedotov
(#33 Sam Ersson)
Projected Lineup: New York Islanders
#27 Anders Lee – #14 Bo Horvat – #13 Mathew Barzal
#11 Anthony Duclair – #29 Brock Nelson – #21 Kyle Palmieri
#53 Casey Cizikas – #44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau – #10 Simon Holmström
#7 Maxim Tsyplakov – #32 Kyle MacLean – #16 Marc Gatcomb
#28 Alexander Romanov – #4 Tony DeAngelo
#3 Adam Pelech – #26 Scott Perunovich
#36 Isaiah George – #24 Scott Mayfield
#30 Ilya Sorokin
(#1 Jakub Škarek)
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