NEWARK, N.J. -Although the Devils scored two goals to tie the game in the second period, their comeback attempt fell short as they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3, Tuesday night.
"There was a lot of good five on five inside that game," said Devils Head Coach Lindy Ruff. "I saw a lot of comeback in us, I saw a lot of desperation, there was no quit...we're still in that kind of learn to win and learn how not to lose."
Michael McLeod scored his first career NHL goal to open the scoring for the home team. Miles Wood and Nathan Bastian had the assists.
GAME STORY: Flyers 5, Devils 3
Devils comeback falls short as the home team falls to their rivals. McLeod scored his first NHL goal in the loss.
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GAME DAY
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POST-GAME
Highlights
McLeod Scores First NHL Goal
Post-Game Report - Amanda Stein Wraps Up the Game
Post-Game: McLeod
Post-Game: Wedgewood
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff Post-Game
WHAT'S NEXT
New Jersey hosts the Philadelphia Flyers for a second straight game. Thursday's game is on MSG+ and can be heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
Travis Zajac also scored in the second period with Andreas Johnsson and Janne Kuokkanen credited with helpers. The assists were Johnsson's and Kuokkanen's first points of the season.
Pavel Zacha had the Devils final goal of the night, as he scored his second goal of the season in his second straight game with 1:08 left in the third period.
"[Zacha] was around the net, he had a couple of great opportunities, he converted on one late," said Ruff. "There was a lot of good [with Zacha's] game and it probably started with his desperation."
Trevor van Riemsdyk scored two power play goals while Nolan Patrick, Joel Farabee, and Ivan Provorov (empty net) each added one for Philadelphia.
Just 48 seconds into the game, the Devils got their first power play opportunity of the night. New Jersey had several strong possessions with the man-advantage but were unable to score. Throughout the first ten minutes of the period, the Devils had several on target shots but weren't able to follow up with a shot on the rebound.
With six and a half minutes left in the period, Andreas Johnsson was sent to the box for holding and the Devils penalty kill had their first test of the night. With just over twenty second left on the man-advantage, Philadelphia's James van Riemsdyk scored to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. van Riemsdyk, on the doorstep, redirected Ivan Provorov's shot for the goal.
Throughout the first period, Yegor Sharangovich had two big shots, including once on the breakaway, but was unable to get past Philadelphia's goaltender Brian Elliott. After the first period, both teams had nine shots on net.
The Devils went to the box early in the second as Kyle Palmieri was called for goaltender interference just twenty seconds in. For the second time tonight, van Riemsdyk redirected a shot right in front of the net to score on the power play. Provorov's had the primary assist once again on the goal.
New Jersey's penalty kill kept Philadelphia off the scoresheet the third time around. After P.K. Subban was sent to the box for interference five minutes into the period, Scott Wedgewood came up with some big saves to keep it 2-0.
With 10:28 left in the second period, the Devils went back on the penalty kill. Subban picked up his second minor penalty of the night. New Jersey's special teams remain strong as they kill off the penalty.
With seven minutes left in the second period, Michael McLeod scored his first NHL goal to get the Devils on the board. Miles Wood and Nathan Bastian had the assists on the goal. Then four minutes later, New Jersey scored again to tie the game at 2. Travis Zajac tipped Andreas Johnsson's shot and Janne Kuokkanen had the secondary assist.
The Devils saw some strong offensive possession late in the second period but were unable to score a third goal. Both teams went into the second intermission tied at two. The Flyers continued to outshoot the Devils, leading 22-18, after 40 minutes.
The Devils saw an increased urgency in the first seven minutes of the third period and several shots that hit the post.
Less than two minutes into the third period, Andreas Johnsson's shot hits the crossbar and his go-ahead goal attempt falls short. The Devils try to score on the rebound but the play is called dead before they are able to.
Damon Severson had two very close chances within 30 seconds. First, he was fed a pass from Merkley after Merkley picked up the puck in the neutral zone. Severson's shot from the left face off circle was stopped by Elliott. Then not long after, Severson's shot in front of the goal hit the post and he was denied scoring once again.
The Flyers took back their lead with 12:57 left in the third period. Scott Wedgewood was down, Flyers Captain Claude Giroux passed to Nolan Patrick, and Patrick fired one on net and scored.
Thirty seconds later, Joel Farabee scored his second of the season to give the Flyers a two goal lead.
Severson was sent to the box for a penalty with 7:01 left in the game, however, the Devils penalty kill kept the Flyers from scoring and were 2/5 on the night.
"We're working hard and we're going through our system. It's a learning curve, we're still early in the year," said Wedgewood on what he's seen on the penalty kill. "The other night we did a great job...If you think about breakdowns it's not really there, it's just pucks going to net and guys on their team putting sticks in the right area. We'll look at it and if we can make some adjustments we will."
Philadelphia scored an empty net goal with a minute and a half left to make it 5-3, however Pavel Zacha scored with just over a minute left in a last comeback attempt. The goal wasn't enough to launch a full comeback as the Devils fell 5-3.
"We don't have enough finish, we haven't converted some of the great opportunities," said Ruff. "I like the fact that we tried a lot of different times, tried to put the...puck tape on tape. And we had some really good execution. We made a couple mistakes that we'll work through."
Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood finished the night with 27 saves on 31 shots.
"[There are] lessons to be learned in every game and we're gonna be learning them all year, and that's just kind of how it goes," said Wedgewood following the loss. "We'll progress but we gotta take what we can away from the game, and look back at what we did well and just prepare for the next one."
On Thursday night, the Devils will host the Flyers again for the second game of a two game home stand, before hitting the road for four straight games.
