NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with the Wednesday Night Hockey matchup between the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.
The Devils opened the 2019-20 campaign dropping their first two games of the season. They blew a 4-0 lead Friday night at home, falling to the Jets 5-4 in a shootout, and were dominated the following night in Buffalo, losing 7-2.
Last season the Devils finished tied for sixth for most goals/against per game (3.30), while starting three different goalies throughout the year. Through two games this season, the same problem remains as New Jersey has allowed 5.50 goals/against per game.
“We’re playing like we want to have an easy game,” said Devils head coach John Hynes. “We can talk about it nine different ways but that’s the reality of where we’re at right now.”
The Flyers dealt Wayne Simmonds to the Predators in exchange for Ryan Hartman and a 2020 4th round pick at the 2019 trade deadline. Now a member of the Devils, Simmonds makes his return to Philly and will play against his former team for the first time after spending the past seven-plus seasons with the franchise.
“In a perfect world maybe it could have worked, but for what my goal is and where I’m trying to get to, I think it was a bad fit to be quite honest,” said Simmonds. “With all the pieces they have there in place, there’s a reason why I did get traded. Obviously, I wasn’t a piece they needed anymore.”
Philly will be tacking on thousands of sky miles to start the season. The Flyers played a preseason game overseas in Switzerland against Lausanne HC of the Swiss Elite League, before traveling to Prague, Czech Republic, to open the regular season against the Blackhawks. They host the Devils Wednesday night in Philly before making their Western Canada road trip. [WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6:30 P.M. ET – NBCSN]
WHAT: New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers WHERE: Wells Fargo Center WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 9, 6:30 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Devils-Flyers stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
DEVILS Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Nikita Gusev Jesper Bratt - Travis Zajac - Kyle Palmieri Blake Coleman - Jack Hughes - Wayne Simmonds Miles Wood - Kevin Rooney - John Hayden
Sami Vatanen - P.K. Subban Andy Greene - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Connor Carrick
Starting goalie: Cory Schneider
FLYERS Claude Giroux - Kevin Hayes - Jakub Voracek Oskar Lindblom - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny James van Riemsdyk - Scott Laughton - Carsen Twarynski Connor Bunnaman - Michael Raffl - Tyler Pitlick
Ivan Provorov - Justin Braun Travis Sanheim - Matt Niskanen Robert Hagg - Shayne Gostisbehere
Starting goalie: Carter Hart
Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Brian Boucher will call Devils-Flyers from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Kathryn Tappen, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones and NHL insider Bob McKenzie will host studio coverage.
On Wednesday night’s season debut of Wednesday Night Hockey on NBCSN, NHL fans will be able to get a sneak peek to a yet to be released Green Day song called “Fire, Ready, Aim”. The song will serve as the opening theme song of Wednesday Night Hockey throughout the 2019-20 season and will be featured on NHL on NBC Sports broadcasts throughout the season.
Produced by NBC Sports, the high-energy show open features the band playing their new song on a hockey rink interspersed with action shots of more than a dozen NHL players, including Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins, Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks, Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings, P.K. Subban of the New Jersey Devils, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, among others.