The Philadelphia Flyers (10-6-3) continue their homestand after pulling off another comeback victory against the St. Louis Blues. Tonight, they will face off against one of their division rivals, the New Jersey Devils (13-6-1). The puck is scheduled to drop at 7pm/ET.
The Flyers primary focus continues to be at the start of the game. 13 of their 19 games played this season, they have given up the first goal. That means 68% of the time, you are starting every game behind. It needs to even out, and the Flyers know it. They did have a good start against the Blues on Thursday night, but still found themselves in a two-goal deficit after one period. With five upcoming games over the next seven days, they’re going to need some better starts.
“It’s the mental toughness.” – Rick Tocchet; 11/21/2025
The Emergence of Emil Andrae
There was a new defensive pairing that emerged last game. In the second period, Emil Andrae was moved up with Jamie Drysdale. This stuck until the end of the game, and the coaching staff was rewarded with that decision. Andrae, in the third period, corralled a loose puck that was jammed up ice by Travis Konecny from the crease. Andrae also scooped the puck, seamlessly gliding to the right side of the ice, confidently sent the puck back to Tyson Foerster who tied the game up. The reason why this move was surprising was because of the emphasis on size on the backend by the front office. Drysdale is 5′11″, and Andrae is just 5′9″. It is a testament to their ability to handle the physicality of the NHL, and their ability to move the puck and stay involved in the possession game. Hopefully we see more of them together. For what it’s worth, it sure seems like Emil would not mind at all.
“I mean when you’re playing more, the more confidence you have. I think me and Jimmy [Drysdale] played great when we played together. It was fun to play.” – Emil Andrae; 11/20/2025
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena; Philadelphia, PA
When: 11/20/2025; 7:00pm/ET
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Last Game PHI: 11/20/2025; 3-2 W (OT); vs St Louis Blues
Last Game NJD: 11/20/2025; 1-0 L ; at Florida Panthers
Philadelphia Injury Report:
- Rasmus Ristolainen (triceps)
New Jersey Injury Report:
- Jack Hughes (undisclosed)
- Cody Glass (upper-body)
- Brett Pesce (upper-body)
- Zack MacEwen (undisclosed)
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have a few gametime decisions tonight. Foerster and Owen Tippett were both not present for practice for maintenance. Tocchet acknowledged that they were a bit banged up on Friday after practice. It’ll be interesting to see if the Flyers call anyone up from the Phantoms (hello, Alex Bump). Additionally, question marks remain for Nikita Grebenkin, who has been healthy scratched seven times this season. Tocchet acknowledged that decisions will need to be made.
“We got to work with him, and there’s a process to it. You know it’s tough because that position right now, we’re looking for a fourth-line identity. He’s kind of stuck in the middle there. We’re trying to figure out what is Grebby [Grebenkin] in the sense, but that’s a process. Trust me, we’re talking about it all the time. Danny and management about the best way to handle him.” – Rick Tocchet; 11/22/2025
Dan Vladař will play again tonight. Vladař was solid in net on Thursday, stopping 27 of 29 shots. He ended the game with .931 SV%. It was a bit of a relief to see him string together a performance like this. There was some concern that he has been plummeting back down to earth since November, after a hot start in October. And maybe he still does, but for now, he remains the Flyers starting goaltender.
Team Stats
On offense, the Devils possess the edge. They currently rank 18th in goals for per game (3.00). On the power play, the also have the edge on the powerplay, ranking 12th (22.6%). The Flyers goals per game ranks 29th in the league. On the powerplay, they rank 19th (18.9%).
On defense, the Flyers have the advantage. They rank 9th (2.79) in goals against per game. The Devils rank 14th, allowing 2.90 goals against per game. Additionally, the penalty kill remains superior, sitting at 2nd (86.2%) league-wide. The Devils, while good, rank 12th (82.5%).
No one will claim the Flyers are better than the Devils right now. This is a good team, but there is one thing that may provide an advantage for Philadelphia. Devils star center Jack Hughes was placed on IR after a “freak accident,” suffering a cut at a restaurant. Hughes had 20 points (10g, 10a) through 17 games before the injury. They will be missing him, but we cannot say the same for the Flyers.
Philadelphia Flyers Projected Lines:
#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #11 Travis Konecny
#39 Matvei Michkov – #14 Sean Couturier – #10 Bobby Brink
#46 Trevor Zegras – #22 Christian Dvorak – #74 Owen Tippett
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #18 Rodrigo Ābols – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#36 Emil Andrae – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#24 Nick Seeler – #5 Egor Zamula
#80 Dan Vladař
(#33 Sam Ersson)
New Jersey Devils Projected Lines:
#81 Arseny Gritsyuk – #13 Nico Hischier – #63 Jesper Bratt
#28 Timo Meier – #91 Dawson Mercer – #16 Connor Brown
#18 Ondřej Palát – #83 Juho Lammikko – #33 Evgenii Dadonov
#47 Paul Cotter – #14 Luke Glendening – #11 Stefan Noesen
#71 Jonas Siegenthaler– #17 Šimon Nemec
#5 Brenden Dillon – #43 Luke Hughes
#44 Dennis Cholowski – #7 Dougie Hamilton
#25 Jacob Markström
(#34 Jake Allen)
