- The Matchup: Philadelphia Flyers (39-26-12) @ New Jersey Devils (40-34-3)
- The Time: 7:00 pm EST
- The Broadcast: ESPN, Devils Hockey Radio
Last Devils Game
Well folks, it finally happened. 77 games into the season, Jacob Markstrom is finally warmed up, as many on here said he would do eventually. Playing again after sitting the previous 2 games, and with only 5 games left in the season, our big game trophy secured his first shutout of the season, as the Devils defeated the Canadiens in Montreal by a score of 3-0. Not that it matters at all of course. Unlike the Devils, the Canadiens have a playoff spot officially secured and are getting ready to start
the real season very soon. I think they’ll be just fine tonight with their loss to the Devils.
As far as the Devils, it was their 3rd win in their last 6 games, and a bounce back victory against Montreal, who they lost to the night before, on Saturday, April 4th 4-3 in the shootout. The Devils had goals in all 3 periods, with Timo Meier scoring his 24th of the season in the 1st, Cody Glass with his 17th in the 2nd, and Connor Brown sealing the meaningless victory in the 3rd with an empty net goal for his 17th of the season. Jack Hughes continues his hot streak when it doesn’t count, but I’m told this will all carry over into next season, so flushing yet another season down the toilet this year is no big deal. Trust the process.
Last Flyers Game
On Sunday, the Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime on a power play goal. Unlike the Devils, the Flyers are currently sitting in a playoff spot and are playing games that actually matter in April. Go figure. With only 5 games left, the Flyers have not yet secured a spot, so they will be motivated to come out strong the rest of the season. The win was their 2nd in a row, and their 5th in their last 7 games. Dan “Darth” Vladar started in net for Philadelphia and got the win, his 26th of the season, stopping 18 of 19 shots from Boston (another team actually playing meaningful games in April).
Christian Dvorak scored his 17th of the season for the Flyers in the 1st period, and the teams went scoreless in the 2nd period, before our old pal, Pavel “I have more goals than anyone on the entire Devils roster this season, thanks for trading me to a better team” Zacha tied it up, scoring his 29th goal of the season for Boston. The game eventually went to overtime where Porter Martone (“who?”) scored his 1st goal of the season, on the power play, to win the game for Philadelphia.
Injuries, Roster for Tonight, Yada, Yada, Yada.
Arseny Gritsyuk and Brett Pesce will remain out for the rest of the season, in what is old news at this point. The Devils will ride this roster for the remaining 5 games, barring any new injuries. The only question remains is which goalie will start every night for the remainder of the dead man walking schedule. Does it really matter? Probably not.
Grimace’s Prediction and 2025-2026 Record Tracker
Grimace is back with a new prediction. The Devils will wind up winning a few more games and finishing less than 5 points out of a playoff spot. This will of course, convince the 24 person decision making board in the Devils front office, that everything is fine and proceeding as planned, and will lead to no major changes for next season. Unless of course, your definition of major changes is moving around spare parts like they do every off season and hoping for the best. Good times!
Grimace’s 2025-2026 Season Prediction record currently stands at 13-14-0.
Your Take
I’m not a big spoiler kind of guy, as I feel like that’s a sad consolation prize for your team not taking care of their own business. With that being said, I dislike the Flyers very much, and would enjoy seeing the Devils make the Flyers path to the playoffs harder than it needs to be. So, as much as the season is over for the Devils, I’d love to see them ruin the Flyers season if they possibly can. Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below and thanks for reading!
In a shameless bit of non hockey related self promotion (approved by Chris – thanks Chris), I wanted to plug my brand new podcast on here, if any of you are interested in listening. We have a light hearted, fun discussion about any movies, music or video games mostly from the 1980s and 1990s. Please feel free to listen to us on any of the formats below and any feedback is welcome (positive and negative). Also, please follow us and subscribe, even if you think we stink. 🙂
