After a heartbreaking season, the Philadelphia Flyers are in their last seven games of the season. The Flyers, filled with eliminatory hopes at the start of the season, now play the role of spoiler. It’s irrelevant to the Devils. However, two-game sets against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals come immediately after that four-game streak with New Jersey. If Philadelphia can gain momentum against the lowly Devils, they could ruin the first-place chances in the East for any of the following teams.

The Flyers, so far, have seemed a bit overwhelmed by New Jersey overall. In the first game, a late comeback led by the historic milestone of Claude Giroux pushed them to a shootout victory. However, on Tuesday night, Philadelphia dropped a back-and-forth deal, 6-4. The young guns looked good, but that’s about it.

The Flyers enter the third of a four-game series tonight. Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Philadelphia, with a face-off scheduled for 7 p.m. You can watch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia or NBCSN. In front of their home fans, the Flyers are the favorites in the -130 silver line with the over / under sitting at 6 goals.

Team updates

Circulars

One of the biggest updates on the end of the Flyers is that Alex Lyon will be starting tonight, by Jordan Room.

Carter Hart has also been officially closed for the remaining seven games of the season. Hart, who suffered a slight knee sprain on April 15 in Pittsburgh, has not been seen since. General manager Chuck Fletcher did not respond to a message on Saturday requesting an update, according to Ed Barkowitz.

Also from Jordan Hall, Philadelphia fired Egor Zamula on the taxi team after making his NHL debut on Tuesday night. Shayne Gostisbehere is still recovering from an MCL sprain. He’ll be missing about another week of play unless the Flyers decide to shut him down for the season as well. Cameron York got injured at Lehigh Valley as well, likely ending his chances of making his NHL debut this season. It’s possible the Flyers will ride with their typical defenders on Thursday night, with Robert Hagg and Sam Morin both.

Devils

Nico Hischier has posted solid numbers against the Flyers this season. He has points in both games he has played this season (1g-1a) and has a three-game streak with at least one point against the Flyers. For his career, he also has 10 points in 11 games. Forward Michael McLeod leads New Jersey in goals (3) and points (5) against the Flyers. Pavel Zacha also scored three goals in the seasonal series.

For tonight’s game, PK Subban and Jonas Siegenthaler will remain absent due to the COVID-19 protocol. You can also expect to see Mackenzie Blackwood back between the pipes tonight. Blackwood starred in his 100th career NHL game Tuesday night, which was also his 42nd career victory.

Remember, you can get exclusive Flyers products from FOCO!

Prediction

Flyers win

For the sake of my sanity and optimism, let’s say Philadelphia wins this game. As I noted in the premiere of the first game in this series, nothing will be easy for Philadelphia. Not a single win from now on will be as satisfying as it should be, but the Flyers will claim another tonight.

Philadelphia and its opponent have passed 31 of their 49 games this season. Between the defensive problems of the two teams and these statistics, Philadelphia will have a somewhat high case. Chalk up a Flyers 5-3 win after an empty net.

Photo credit: Alex McIntyre