Flyers vs. Devils: Live stream, storylines, game time and more

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It’s the return of James van Riemsdyk Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center when the Flyers (9-8-1) host the Devils (7-8-1).

Let's look at the essentials:

When: 7 p.m. ET with Flyers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app

• James van Riemsdyk returns to the Flyers' lineup for the first time since suffering a lower leg injury Oct. 6 in Colorado. The Flyers' 6-foot-3 left winger is still looking for his first goal in his return to the Flyers' organization. JVR collected an assist playing 13:59 in the team’s season-opening 5-2 victory in Vegas.   

“Exciting stuff! Obviously, it’s been a few weeks now," van Riemsdyk said. "You have that same excitement that you have from the start of every season. I’m just ready to get back in, and the guys have been playing great. I just want to get out there and get going.”

• With van Riemsdyk’s return, it gives the Flyers' No. 1 power play a new look they haven’t experienced. Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek will be stationed along the walls with Shayne Gostisbehere at the point. Sean Couturier will work between the circles with JVR providing the net-front presence previously occupied by Wayne Simmonds. 

• To accommodate van Riemsdyk, Dale Weise will move to the Flyers' fourth line with Scott Laughton and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. Weise missed Wednesday’s practice at the Skate Zone as he tended to his 5-year-old son Hunter, who required reconstructive surgery on a broken nose and orbital bone after a heavy table fell on his face at the family home during the team’s trip to California.  

• The Flyers will play their fourth game against a Metropolitan Divisional opponent with their only victory coming against New Jersey at the Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 20. The Devils come into this matchup with the worst road record (1-7-0) in the NHL. Overall, the Flyers are 1-2-0 against Metro teams. 

• There will be no battle of 1 vs. 2 of 2017 draft picks as Devils center Nico Hischier is out of the Devils' lineup with an upper-body injury. Hischier has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 15 games this season. Patrick has nine points (five goals, four assists) in 15 games but has outscored Hischier at even strength. 

• Brian Elliott is expected to make his 12th start of the season in net. Since the start of West Coast trip on Oct. 30, Elliott is 4-1-0 with a .954 save percentage with a 1.32 goals against average. New Jersey will counter with Keith Kinkaid, who’s been the Devils' No. 1 in net in the absence of Cory Schneider. Kinkaid (7-5-1, 2.80, .911) allowed three goals in an Oct. 20 loss to the Flyers. 

• The Wells Fargo Center has taken game clocks from the top of the basketball backboards and installed them behind each net. The league will experiment with it during morning skates. The idea is to give players a better indication of time remaining in a period, as well as, the remainder of time during a power play. There’s no word if the clocks will remain in their current location as they obstruct the views of fans sitting behind the goal.

Projected lineup

Forwards
Claude Giroux - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny 
Oskar Lindblom - Nolan Patrick - Jakub Voracek
James van Riemsdyk - Jordan Weal - Wayne Simmonds
Dale Weise - Scott Laughton - Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Defensemen
Ivan Provorov - Robert Hagg
Shayne Gostisbehere - Christian Folin
Travis Sanheim - Radko Gudas

Goalies
Brian Elliott
Calvin Pickard

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