Devils Gameday Preview: Home Opener Hosting the Flyers

The ice is ready for the New Jersey Devils‘ first game of the 2026-27 season. They host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight in their home opener. The Devils played their last preseason game on Saturday against the New York Islanders, a 4-1 win.

The Flyers opened their season at home Wednesday night in a 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They will be on the hunt for their first win and their first goal tonight.

Devils Storylines

Evan Rodrigues will make his Devils regular-season debut tonight. He was acquired along with Ben Steeves and Jesper Boqvist in the offseason trade that sent Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers.

Rodrigues is slated to center the third line alongside Arseny Gritsyuk and Dawson Mercer. Gritsyuk is entering his second season healthy, after an injury sidelined him at the end of last season. Mercer is looking to continue his Devils ironman streak after surpassing Travis Zajac on the franchise’s all-time consecutive games played list last season.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe announced that Boqvist will be a healthy scratch tonight, with Stefan Noesen slotting into the fourth line instead. Boqvist is returning to the Devils after three seasons with the Boston Bruins (2023-24) and Panthers (2024-25 and 2025-26). Steeves will join the Devils’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utica Comets, this season.

Luke Evangelista will also make his Devils debut tonight. He was a late acquisition, after the team traded two 2028 draft picks to the Nashville Predators for him on Sept. 1. He is expected to slot in on the top line alongside Timo Meier and Nico Hischier. After scoring a career-high 56 points in 2025-26 with the Predators, the Devils will be looking for him to continue to produce offensively this season.

Finally, Amadeus Lombardi will make his NHL debut tonight. The Devils traded their 2026 fourth-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings to acquire the 23-year-old forward in June. He has spent the last three seasons playing for the Red Wings’ AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He scored 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists) in 47 games for the Griffins last season.

The player to watch in this game is Lombardi. However, since it’s the home opener, let’s predict who will score the Devils’ first goal of the campaign. While it would be fantastic if it went to Lombardi in his debut, I think the honor will belong to Jesper Bratt.

Team Stats

New Jersey Devils:
Season Record: 0-0-0

Philadelphia Flyers:
Season Record: 0-1-0

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change before puck drop)

Philadelphia Flyers

Owen Tippett — Trevor Zegras — Porter Martone
Tyson Forester — Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny
Alex Bump — Noah Cates — Matvei Michkov
Carl Grundstrom — Sean Couturier — Noel Acciari

Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler — Simon Benoit

Joseph Woll
Dan Vladar

Scratched: Garrett Wilson, David Jiricek

Injured: Denver Barkey, Nikita Grebenkin

New Jersey Devils

Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Luke Evangelista
Anthony Mantha — Jack Hughes — Jesper Bratt
Arseny Gritsyuk — Evan Rodrigues — Dawson Mercer
Amadeus Lombardi — Cody Glass — Stefan Noesen

Luke Hughes — Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Declan Chisholm

Jake Allen
Nico Daws

Scratched: Johnathan Kovacevic, Remi Poirier

Injured: Johnathan Kovacevic, Connor Brown

Next Up for the Devils

After their opener, the Devils immediately hit the road for one game on Saturday, Oct. 3, when they visit Long Island to take on the New York Islanders. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET. They then return home to host the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday, Oct. 6.