Devils-Flyers Preview

With their rookie defenseman trying to keep his streak going to set a franchise record, the Philadelphia Flyers want to get some momentum going before a long road trip.

Shayne Gostisbehere will seek to extend his point streak to 11 games while helping the Flyers get past the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

Philadelphia (24-20-9) ended a three-game slide by routing Buffalo 5-1 on Thursday. The Flyers scored four times in the second period, and R.J. Umberger kicked off that binge by ending a 50-game drought that dated back to January 2015.

"It's huge for us, just everyone pulling on the same side of the rope, just having an explosion like that. Four goals in one period," Gostisbehere said. "That's huge for a team like us, especially after laying an egg (in a 4-1 loss to Anaheim on Tuesday)."

The 22-year-old assisted on Wayne Simmonds' second-period goal to match the team's longest point streak by a rookie, set by Mikael Renberg in 1993-94. Gostisbehere has two goals and 11 assists during his 10-game run, currently the longest in the NHL.

He has 17 points in 17 home games, but this is the last time the Flyers will be playing in Philadelphia until Feb. 25. They begin a five-game trek Sunday against the New York Rangers, followed by their season series finale with the Devils on Tuesday.

New Jersey (27-21-7) also ended a three-game skid in its latest game but had a little more tension in a 2-1 victory over Edmonton on Tuesday. The Devils didn't get the tiebreaking goal until Reid Boucher converted on a power play with 12:47 remaining.

Adam Henrique also scored on a man advantage, and New Jersey improved to 9 for 23 in its last eight games. The Devils have killed off all 19 penalties in their five contests this month.

"Our special teams were great," said Cory Schneider, who is 7-3-1 with a 1.64 goals-against average in his last 11 starts. "We needed this one after (a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on Monday). We felt good about our two prior games but didn't win. To get a win is important. We couldn't settle for single points here."

Like the Flyers, New Jersey is just outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Devils have won six of their last seven visits to Philadelphia, including 4-1 on Oct. 29, but have lost a season-worst three in a row on the road while scoring three goals.

They're averaging a league-worst 1.44 goals on the road since 2016 began, partly offsetting the fact Schneider's 1.86 GAA away from home this season is tops among goalies with at least 10 road starts.

Simmonds has eight goals and two assists in his last eight contests. He has the Flyers' only power-play goal in 15 chances over the last three contests, though they've killed off 13 of 14 penalties in the last four.

Kyle Palmieri has seven points in five career games against Philadelphia, including two goals and two assists this season.

Travis Zajac had two power-play goals in Philadelphia but sat out the last matchup in New Jersey because of an upper-body injury as Philadelphia won 4-3 in overtime Dec. 4. The Devils are 14-0-2 in their last 16 games against the Flyers - including the playoffs - when Zajac is on the ice.

Top Philadelphia netminder Steve Mason has lost all seven starts he's made against New Jersey with a 3.77 GAA.