The New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers will lace them up again this Friday night in the back-end of this Atlantic Division home-and-home series. Game time from the Wells Fargo Center is set for 7 p.m. (ET), and it will be broadcast nationally on the NHL Network.

The Devils struck first blood in Game 1 with a dominating 5-2 victory on Wednesday night as -102 home favorites. It was their third victory in their last four games after suffering through a six-game losing streak. The total has gone “over” in five of their last seven games.

Philadelphia’s woes continue with just three wins in its last eight games. It is currently tied for 10th-place in the Eastern Conference and is three points out of the final playoff spot. The Flyers return home where they have gone 8-4-1 this season, and the total has gone over in three of their last five games overall.

Devils at Flyers Betting Storylines

New Jersey once again went with Johan Hedberg in goal on Wednesday night for the injured Martin Brodeur, and he responded with 23 saves on 25 shots, but it was the Devils’ offensive attack that really got the job done. They took a 3-1 lead into the second period and never looked back. Adam Henrique scored twice to raise his season total to nine, and Ilya Kovalchuk’s short-handed goal late in the first period was his 10th tally of the season.

The Devils are ranked 19th in the NHL in scoring with an average of 2.5 goals a game and are giving up an average of 2.7 goals on the other end of the ice. The one area they have really struggled with this year is defending against the power play with a 78.5 percent kill rate, but that short-handed goal on Wednesday night helped spark the win.

The Flyers have to be one of the more disappointing teams this season after opening as third-favorites on BetOnline’s futures odds to win the East this year. They are just 12-15-1 in their first 28 games and running out of time to turn things around in this shortened season. One of their biggest problems has been the play of Ilya Bryzgalov in goal. In 26 games this season he has a goals-against average of 2.86 and a .896 save percentage. He is still penciled in as the starter for Friday night, but do not be surprised if Brian Boucher gets the call.

Jakub Voracek has done his best to keep Philadelphia competitive with team-high 31 points that includes 13 goals. Claude Giroux is second in points with 25 on the strength of 17 assists, and Wayne Simmonds is second in goals with 10. Overall, the Flyers have still done a fairly good job at finding the back of the net with 2.8 goals a game.

Devils at Flyers NHL Betting Odds and Trends

New Jersey has been opened by BetOnline as a +136 road underdog for this divisional clash with the Flyers listed as -150 favorites on the money line. The “over/under” has been set at 5.5.

The Devils are now 16-5 in their last 21 Atlantic Division games but 1-4 in their last five games following a win. The total has gone over in five of their last seven road games.

The Flyers are 1-6 in the second game of their last seven home-and-home series and 3-11 in their last 14 games against the division. The total has gone over in their last six division games.

New Jersey’s win on Wednesday night extended its winning streak in this series to seven games, and it is 5-2 in its last seven trips to the Wells Fargo Center. The total has gone over in four of the last six meetings.

Devils at Flyers Picks and Betting Predictions

There is little doubt that the Devils have dominated this division rivalry as of late, but four of those wins came in last season’s playoffs. The Flyers still have some major long-term issues that need to be corrected, but they take a step in the right direction by salvaging a split in this series on Friday night on the strength of home ice.

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