After a strong win against the Sabres on Friday, the New Jersey Devils (16-8-1, 1st Metropolitan) fell to the Philadelphia Flyers (14-7-3, 3rd Metropolitan) 5-3 in a scrappy game at the Prudential Center Saturday night. The Devils attempted a comeback after going down 4-1, but ultimately came up short.
First Period
The game got off to a slow start with a lot of whistles in the first minute. The Flyers drew their first power play of the night within the first minute off a high-stick from Simon Nemec. The Devils killed the penalty off well and got back to even strength with some momentum. They had a good shift in the offensive zone that featured a great chance off a Timo Meier pass that Jesper Bratt whiffed on.
Philadelphia came right back the other way, however, as Christian Dvorak and Owen Tippett got in behind the defense. Dvorak found Tippett speeding in behind Nemec, and Tippett backhanded it past Jacob Markström for his 100th career goal. Nemec called the play, “not smart,” in his interview after the period.
The Flyers had all the momentum after the goal, getting a few strong shifts in the Devils’ zone. Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov got in behind the defense again and almost repeated Dvorak and Tippett’s effort.
The Devils came back at Philly with some strong shifts of their own. They got themselves on the board midway through the period as Jesper Bratt found a trailing Nemec, who one-timed it past Dan Vladar to tie the game at one apiece.
New Jersey had all the momentum after that goal, and they piled the pressure on the Flyers late in the period. The Devils got their first power play opportunity of the night when Michkov cross-checked Luke Hughes. They had a strong first shift on the power play as Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier forced Dan Vladar to make two incredible saves as time wound down. The Devils would go into the locker room with half a minute remaining on the power play.
Second Period
It would be the Flyers who would gain the upper hand to start the second period. After killing off the remainder of the Devils’ man advantage, Matvei Michkov came flying out of the box to create a two-on-one with Travis Konecny. Konecny sent it to Michkov, who scored to put the Flyers up 2-1. Jacob Markström appeared to make the save initially, but it squeaked under his pads and into the net.
Philadelphia had all the momentum after their second goal and turned the heat up in the Devils’ zone. Travis Konecny got on the scoresheet again soon after, one-timing a smart feed from Travis Sanheim past Markstrom to give the Flyers a two-goal lead.
The Devils looked completely out of sync after the Flyers’ third goal. They played sloppy shift after sloppy shift, and Philadelphia nearly capitalized a few times. Even when the Devils found their composure, the Flyers had their number. Off the back of a good offensive zone shift, Jesper Bratt created a breakaway opportunity, but hit the post. Philadelphia came right back the other way as Tippett fed Trevor Zegras, who scored on a wide open net to give the Flyers a 4-1 lead.
New Jersey got their second chance with the extra man after killing off the four-on-four and did not miss the opportunity. Jesper Bratt sent it in on Vladar, and Dawson Mercer desperately tried to corral it, and Timo Meier poked in the rebound to cut the lead to 4-2. It was a much-needed goal for New Jersey that put the game back within reach. Despite a very sloppy second period, the Devils would go into the second intermission still in with a fighting chance.
Third Period
Both teams exchanged some strong chances to start the third period with action at both ends of the ice. Philadelphia seemed to tilt the ice a bit a few minutes in, but the Devils defended well and kept the game within two goals.
Dawson Mercer would bring the Devils within one goal seven minutes into the period. Deep in the offensive zone, he completely fooled Zegras to take him out of the play, dangled around the remaining defender, went to his backhand, and roofed it to cut the lead to 4-3.
The Devils came out guns blazing after the goal, and got a power play off a Flyers delay of game soon after. They could not capitalize, and they remained down by one. Later in the period, the referees missed a blatant high stick on Luke Hughes from Sean Couturier. It should have been a four-minute double minor. However, they quickly awarded the Devils a power play on a Cam York slash to even it out.
The Devils piled on the pressure and forced the Flyers to play top-notch defense. They kept the pressure on even after the power play expired, but Philadelphia finally managed to clear the zone.
With a minute to go, head coach Sheldon Keefe pulled Markström, but Owen Tippett broke free. Arseny Gritsyuk tripped him up, and Tippett was awarded the goal due to the empty net. That goal, which made it 5-3, sealed the deal for Philadelphia.
Results
The final score does not do justice to the way the Devils fought back down 4-1. A sloppy second period doomed New Jersey, but they played well in the first period and came back strong starting at the end of the second period.
Saturday night was New Jersey’s first regulation loss at home this season, a major accomplishment as the calendar turns to December. Even though the fans went home unhappy for the first time in a long time, the Devils can draw positives from last night’s loss and move on.
After the game, Sheldon Keefe was asked how far Brett Pesce is away from returning. Keefe answered that he is still, “weeks,” away.
Game Notes
- Owen Tippett had a very strong game for Philadelphia with two goals and an assist. He was involved in a ton of plays for the Flyers and sealed it by drawing a tripping penalty late in the game.
- The Hughes/Nemec defensive pair had a terrible game defensively. They earned -6.11 and -5.63 Game Scores, respectively. Although Nemec scored a goal, he blew multiple coverages and allowed the Flyers to get behind the defense on multiple occasions. Luke Hughes wasn’t any better, with another lackluster defensive game and some weak, low-danger shots in the offensive zone.
- It was a chippy game between the Devils and Flyers, as it always tends to be. Sean Couturier and Timo Meier, in particular, were pestilent throughout with five and six hits, respectively.
Up Next
The Devils will continue the homestand against the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday night.