New Jersey @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 1, 2019 ) Philadelphia 6, New Jersey 3

The Philadelphia Flyers traversed the Atlantic Ocean and ventured nearly 4,200 miles to secure their first win of the season. Five days later following their return trip, the Flyers will bid for their second victory in as many games on Wednesday night when they host former teammate Wayne Simmonds and the New Jersey Devils.

Jakub Voracek dismissed the notion that a long layoff will be an issue after Philadelphia opened its season with a 4-3 win over Chicago in his home country of the Czech Republic on Friday afternoon. "Usually it is, to be honest," the 30-year-old Voracek said of the layoff. "But if you watched today's practice, I think there was a high pace and I think everybody pushed pretty hard. We're going to skate (Wednesday morning) and we'll be fine." Things are not fine with the Devils, who squandered a four-goal lead in a 5-4 shootout loss to Winnipeg on Friday and dropped a 7-2 decision to Buffalo the following night. "A little too much watching I think right now and waiting for someone else to maybe do the work," said Travis Zajac, who has erupted for 38 points against the Flyers -- his second-highest total against any opponent (Pittsburgh).

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVAS

ABOUT THE DEVILS (0-1-1): Simmonds will enjoy a homecoming on Wednesday when he returns to Philadelphia, with which he spent nearly eight seasons before being traded to Nashville on Feb. 25 and later signed a one-year, $5 million contract with New Jersey in the offseason. The 31-year-old Simmonds initially said in the summer that he would "be mad if (the crowd) didn't boo me" before changing his tune to say, "Hopefully, I get some cheers. ... I thoroughly enjoyed Philadelphia and was proud to be a part of that franchise. Obviously, I don't regret anything I ever did in a Flyers uniform." Simmonds will skate on the third line with top overall pick Jack Hughes and Blake Coleman, who recorded his fourth career two-goal performance in the season opener and had four points (one goal, three assists) in four games versus the Flyers in 2018-19.

ABOUT THE FLYERS (1-0-0): Travis Konecny collected his seventh career two-goal performance in the opener and his first since he tallied twice to help Philadelphia salvage a split of its four-game season series versus New Jersey with a 6-3 win on March 1. Oskar Lindblom scored a goal and registered a team-high five shots in the opener for the Flyers, who have seen glimpses of scoring surges from both promising youngsters. Konecny notched 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) in a 22-game stretch from Jan. 19-March 11 while Lindblom answered a sluggish start to last season with 13 goals and 21 points over his final 36 games.

OVERTIME

1. New Jersey C Nico Hischier has recorded seven (three goals, four assists) of his 100 career points against Philadelphia.

2. Flyers G Carter Hart has been confirmed to start on Wednesday versus the Devils, against whom he turned aside 23 shots in his lone encounter -- a 3-2 setback on Jan. 12.

3. New Jersey G Mackenzie Blackwood got the better of Hart in that meeting, although he has yielded nine goals on 45 shots this season.

PREDICTION: Devils 3, Flyers 1