The New Jersey Devils (29-18-6) got a measure of revenge against the Philadelphia Flyers (23-23-6) in a 5-0 victory in Newark on Wednesday. The win got New Jersey on the board in the season series against Philadelphia after a pair of losses earlier this month. The Devils remain in third in the Metropolitan Division with 64 points, just two points behind Carolina.
Game Summary
First Period
The Flyers were on the front foot early. After a strong drive to the net from Anthony Richard, Sean Couturier had two whacks at the puck on the doorstep, but Jake Allen kept it out.
Philadelphia also got the game’s first power play seven minutes in after Tomas Tatar hooked Noah Cates. The Devils killed it off excellently though, keeping the Flyers without a shot on net. New Jersey had a quality look of their own after a tremendous forechecking effort from Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes. Sam Ersson made a solid glove save to deny Brett Pesce, though.
After the penalty expired and the game returned to five-on-five, the Flyers kept causing the Devils trouble by going hard to the net. Jake Allen had to fight off another net front scramble with six minutes left in the period. Just a couple of minutes later, he had to make a sprawling save to rob Travis Konecny on a one-timer.
After one, the score was still 0-0. Shots were 10-7 Philadelphia while New Jersey registered a 42.86 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 12.81 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five.
Second Period
New Jersey began the second period with 1:27 of carry-over power play time. 54 seconds later, Ondrej Palat opened the scoring. Jack Hughes shoveled the puck through the slot, and Palat’s shot was partially blocked before beating Ersson. It was Palat’s 11th goal of the season and first on the power play after replacing Nico Hischier on the top unit on Monday.
Just after the game returned to even strength, Brendan Dillon caught Owen Tippett with a booming open-ice shoulder check. Tippett did not return.
The Flyers sprung a two-on-one during a four-on-four opportunity and Jack Hughes slashed Matvei Michkov to prevent the scoring chance. Philadelphia could not take advantage of the second chance at the power play, although Jake Allen was forced into several saves.
Back at even strength, Luke Hughes picked up a loose puck in the defensive zone and burst the over way, leading a two-on-one with Jack Hughes on his left. Luke took it himself, firing a wrister blocker side to make it 2-0 Devils with 13:33 to go in the second.
Well, doesn't this look familiar
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 30, 2025pic.twitter.com/owq5hefqPe
On the next shift after the goal, Garnet Hathaway started a massive scrum in front of the Devils bench. When it was all said and done, each team took three roughing minors apiece, keeping the game at five-on-five.
That did not last long, however, after Stefan Noesen cross-checked Travis Sanheim in the corner, sending the Flyers back to the power play. Philadelphia had over a minute of zone time, but struggled to hit the net. Ultimately, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt led another shorthanded two-on-one, but Ersson made a great blocker save to deny Hughes.
As the penalty expired, Bratt sprung Tomas Tatar, who was serving one of the roughing minors, on a breakaway, but Ersson made another spectacular blocker save.
Once again, no one seemed to be interested in five-on-five hockey as Sean Couturier took a hooking penalty. It was the 15th minor penalty of the night in just 31 minutes of action.
On their second power play of the night, the Devils’ second unit got a look after the top group struggled to get set up. With 16 seconds left on the man advantage, a Timo Meier one-timer was blocked and sitting loose in the crease where Nathan Bastian stashed home his third goal of the season.
Just 62 seconds later, the Devils added on. After an offensive zone takeaway, Timo Meier fed a cross-slot pass to Dawson Mercer who tallied his 13th of the season, making it 4-0 New Jersey with six minutes left in the frame.
After the goal, John Tortorella pulled Sam Ersson, putting in backup goaltender Ivan Fedotov.
When the horn sounded for the second intermission it was still 4-0 New Jersey. In the second, shots were 13-6 Devils who posted a dominant 74.19 CF% and a 79.03 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
Two minutes into the third, the Devils added on in style. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt worked a beautiful give-and-go on a two-on-one that ended with Hughes putting his 20th goal into a yawning cage.
A minute after the goal, though, Jake Allen made a great save on Garnett Hathaway in the slot. Then, Dougie Hamilton cleared the rebound off the goal line. From there, it was all about preserving Jake Allen’s third shutout of the season with the Devils wrapping up a 5-0 win.
In the third, shots were 8-6 Philadelphia with New Jersey putting up a 43.75 CF% and a 30.81 xGF% while effectively holding the lead.
Wrap-Up
The Devils outshot the Flyers 26-24 in the win, registering a 53.85 CF% but a 37.28 xGF% at five-on-five.
Jake Allen was tremendous in goal, turning aside 3.55 goals above expected in his 27th career shutout.
Game Notes
Excellent Special Teams
Special Teams were the difference in this one, and New Jersey was excellent on both ends of the ice. The power play went 2-for-3 with the failed opportunity coming in the final five minutes while the penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4.
This was especially encouraging because in the previous two losses to Philadelphia, the Devils had been 0-for-5 on the power play and just 2-for-4 on the penalty kill. Of course, Sheldon Keefe also described the four-minute power play in the first period on Monday as the, “worst of the season,” from New Jersey.
It was obvious that special teams was an area that the Devils needed to improve in against Philadelphia, especially given the fact that the Flyers rank in the bottom half of the league in both the penalty kill and the power play. On Wednesday, they did just that.
Timo Meier
Many Devils had strong performances in the 5-0, but one that stood out in particular was Timo Meier. Meier scored his first goal of January in Monday’s loss and tallied two more assists on Wednesday.
His 67.55 xGF% was the highest among New Jersey forwards at five-on-five while the Devils had more scoring chances with Meier on the ice (11) than any other skater. In fact, New Jersey outchanced Philadelphia 11-3 with Meier on the ice while holding a 3-1 edge in high-danger chances.
New Look Pesce, Dillon Pairing
Head coach Sheldon Keefe shook up the defensive pairings in the third period on Monday and stuck with those new pairs on Wednesday. One of the resulting partnerships was Brendan Dillon and Brett Pesce.
The pair was excellent in the win. The two both finished with an xGF% north of 72.00 at five-on-five. They were the only Devils’ skaters above a 70.00 xGF%.
This was especially encouraging from Pesce who finished with a 17.75 xGF% in Monday’s loss, the worst among New Jersey blueliners. The 30-year-old Tarrytown native bounced back in a big way on Wednesday, and Sheldon Keefe may have found a new defensive pair he can turn to.
What’s Next
The Devils have off until Sunday when they travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres. Puck drop from the KeyBank Center is set for 1:00 pm ET on MSGSN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.