The Devils have already given their fans a little bit of everything to start 2026-27. They opened with a 3-2 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers, then came back down hard in a 6-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. In between those extremes, there’s been enough offense to hint at something real, even if the power play still needs cleaning up.
Now the focus shifts to a lighter week on the schedule. New Jersey has just two games from Oct. 4 through Oct. 11, and both come at Prudential Center as part of a three-game homestand. The week starts Tuesday against the Utah Mammoth, then wraps Saturday afternoon against the Vancouver Canucks.
The injury picture remains a major part of the early-season story. Nick Bjugstad is out on injured reserve after surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle, and his timeline is four to six months, which puts his return in the second half of the season.
Johnathan Kovacevic is also still working his way back after a minor offseason procedure on his right knee. He was limited at training camp, sat out the preseason, and was on the ice ahead of practice on Friday, a sign that a return may not be far off.
The blue line has taken another hit with Seamus Casey sidelined for eight to ten weeks after knee surgery. The 22-year-old looked ready for NHL duty during camp before getting hurt in the penultimate preseason game against the New York Rangers.
Connor Brown is dealing with a lower-body injury after tweaking something in practice earlier this week. Head coach Sheldon Keefe said the issue doesn’t appear to be serious, and Brown has missed the first two games of the season.
Amadeus Lombardi is another name worth tracking after a preseason that turned heads. He put up one goal, ten shot attempts and three high-danger scoring chances in three games, then made his NHL debut against the Flyers and logged 8:03 of ice time.
He has been skating with Cody Glass and Stefan Noesen, but Saturday against the Islanders was a tougher night. Lombardi took a hooking penalty six minutes into the first period and later went off again for tripping, while Arseny Gritsyuk filled in on the fourth line.
Lombardi has only two NHL games under his belt, so the learning curve is still in front of him. Even so, the Devils are clearly asking a lot of him, and he knows it.
“These guys are willing to give me an opportunity. I’m going to make sure they look really good for betting on me,” said Lombardi in a recent interview.
If he doesn’t settle in, Jesper Boqvist is waiting for a chance to take that left-wing spot.
Goaltending is another area that still feels unsettled. Before the season, GM Sunny Mehta expressed confidence in a group that included Jake Allen, Nico Daws and David Rittich. Rittich was sent to the Utica Comets of the AHL after clearing waivers, and the Devils also claimed Remi Poirier from the Dallas Stars.
The expectation was that Allen would carry the bulk of the starts, with Daws getting another look at the NHL level. But Daws’ preseason numbers were shaky - an .868 save percentage and a 2.91 goals-against average in two games - and his start to the season hasn’t helped his case. He’s sitting at minus-2.4 goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck, and he struggled badly on high-danger chances against the Islanders, allowing five goals in 12 such situations.
After that game, Daws said, “I don’t think anyone’s going to be overly happy with the way that they played individually…There’s goals out there that I want back, and we have to learn from it and move on.” For now, the questions linger: how much of the workload goes to Allen, and does Poirier eventually get a shot?
In Other News...
Flyers Flashback Revisits A Wild Spectrum Night That Changed Team History
As the Flyers continue marking their 60th season, the club has been looking back at the moments that helped define the franchise, and few are as odd or as Philly as the 1977 exhibition against the Bruins at the Spectrum. The game became known as the George Plimpton Game after the journalist stepped into the crease for five minutes as a goaltender before the puck officially dropped, turning a preseason showcase into one of the strangest footnotes in team history.
The night also carried a sharper edge beneath the novelty, with a line brawl adding to the mythology of the old building and the teams long memory. One lasting reminder from that era still survives at the Xfinity Mobile Arena complex, a preserved piece of the Spectrums past that speaks to how little the Flyers ever let a night of chaos fade quietly into history. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers' Winless Start Just Got More Concerning After Overtime Loss
The Flyers left Carolina with another pointless result, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Hurricanes and extending their season-opening skid to three straight losses. Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov supplied Philadelphias goals, while Joseph Woll held up as long as he could with 37 saves, but the early standings picture is already looking rough for a club trying to settle in and avoid letting the calendar get away from it.
Philadelphia also had to navigate more than just the scoreline, with defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen a concern after taking a shot to his left hand. He briefly returned before being sent for reevaluation Sunday, adding another layer of unease to a start that already has the Flyers searching for answers before the losses start piling up into something harder to dig out of. [Read more 🡒]
Gostisbehere Broke Flyers Hearts Again In A Game Carolina Nearly Lost
Shayne Gostisbehere has a way of making games against his former team linger, and Tuesday night was another reminder for the Flyers of how cruel a close game can feel. The Carolina defenseman scored the overtime winner in a matchup Philadelphia mostly spent chasing, one that also featured Joseph Woll turning aside 37 shots to help Carolina earn its third win of the season.
For the Flyers, the frustration went beyond one bad bounce in extra time. Their offense never found much rhythm, and the defensive side of the night took another hit when Rasmus Ristolainen exited after blocking a late second-period shot and did not return after one shift in the third, leaving Philadelphia with even more to sort through as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]