Who is favored in Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils?

New Jersey Devils are favored on the moneyline.

Who is predicted to win Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils?

Our pick is New Jersey Devils. Philadelphia played Wednesday and New Jersey is rested, and a 7-0 loss in the 1st game of a back-to-back is the kind of result that pushes money toward the home team all day. Hold the Devils before the rest of the market catches up.

Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils

By JR·2 min read

PHI(0-1-0)

NJD(0-0)

Thursday 10/017:00 PM

TLDR: The Flyers got run off their own ice by Pittsburgh in their season opener, and they don't get a night to sit with it. 24 hours later they're in Newark for the Devils' home opener, the 1st game of New Jersey's 44th season.

THU OCT 1, 7:00 PM

Flyers

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Devils

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The Devils open their 44th season at home against a Flyers team that lost 7-0 to Pittsburgh the night before and is now on the 2nd night of a back-to-back. New Jersey comes off a 3-0-1 preseason with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and a red-hot Luke Evangelista up front, but is missing Connor Brown and 2 defensemen. Philadelphia's chances may come down to whether Joseph Woll, who had a strong camp, gets the start and can hold the game together.

Philadelphia Flyers

Woll posted .936 save pct in preseason
Rivalry game, embarrassment fuels a response
Shut out 7-0, outshot 38-19 in opener
2nd night of a back-to-back
Without Grebenkin, Barkey and Grans

New Jersey Devils

Rested, Flyers played the night before
3-0-1 preseason, Evangelista scoring
Hughes and Hischier lines both loaded
Connor Brown out, Noesen draws in
Kovacevic and Casey out, thin blue line
NHL debut for Lombardi on 4th line

Philadelphia's opener was ugly. Pittsburgh scored 5 times on its first 18 shots against Dan Vladar, outshot the Flyers 38-19 and won 7-0, with Arturs Silovs stopping all 19 shots he saw. Broad Street Hockey called it sleepwalking, and that was generous. Now the Flyers play the 2nd night of a back-to-back against a Devils team that hasn't played a game that counts yet and went 3-0-1 in the preseason.

The question in the Philly crease is who starts. Vladar went Wednesday, and offseason pickup Joseph Woll had a strong camp, posting a .936 save percentage in 2 preseason appearances, one of them a 28-save shutout of Boston. Nobody has confirmed it, but the 2nd night of a back-to-back usually goes to the other goalie. The Flyers are also without Nikita Grebenkin, Denver Barkey and Helge Grans. The market has New Jersey as a clear home favorite, and that's about how it should look.

New Jersey has its own holes. Connor Brown is out this week with an undisclosed injury, so Stefan Noesen draws in. Johnathan Kovacevic (knee), Nick Bjugstad and Seamus Casey all open the year on the non-roster list. Kovacevic and Casey leave the blue line thin, so Brenden Dillon and Declan Chisholm make up the 3rd pair behind Luke Hughes-Brett Pesce and Jonas Siegenthaler-Dougie Hamilton.

The forward group is where the Devils should do damage. Jack Hughes centers Jesper Bratt and Anthony Mantha, while Nico Hischier and Timo Meier get Luke Evangelista, who scored both goals in the 4-1 preseason win over the Islanders and has been on the top power-play unit. Amadeus Lombardi, 23, makes his NHL debut on the 4th line. Against a team that couldn't get a shot through 24 hours ago, the Devils' top 6 should spend a lot of the night in the offensive zone.

This is the Devils-Flyers rivalry and an opening night at the Rock, and puck drop is at 7:00 PM ET. If Philadelphia comes out flat again, the building will notice by the 1st TV timeout. If Woll starts and steals a couple of periods, though, the Flyers could still make this a game.

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