postgame-1.29

The Philadelphia Flyers wrapped up a home-and-home set against the New Jersey Devils with a split. After a 4-2 home win on Monday, the Fyers sustained a 5-0 loss at Prudential Center on Wednesday evening.

A four-goal outburst for the Devils in the second period turned a scoreless game into a convincing New Jersey victory. Jake Allen recorded a 24-save shutout. Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes each had a goal and an assist for New Jersey.

Neither team tallied in the first period, but the Flyers had the better of play at 5-on-5. The power play, on the other hand, was a momentum killer. Shots on net favored the Flyers by a 10-7 margin.

Sean Couturier had a good initial scoring chance and rebound attempt near the net off an Anthony Richard feed at 1:47 of the opening frame. The Flyers had three of the game's first four shots on net through five minutes.

Tomas Tatar hooked Noah Cates at 6:45, sending the Flyers to the game's first power play. The Flyers won the first faceoff but never generated much offensive zone possession time. There were two shots on net: both by the shorthanded Devils.

The Scott Laughton line had a flurry of three scoring chances near the net about 13 minutes into the period. At 16:20, Konecny ripped a one-timer on net from an Owen Tippett feed and then, on a followup try, Morgan Frost nearly banked the puck in from a sharp angle. Shots on net at this point were 8-3 Flyers.

Later, Tyson Foerster and Matvei Michkov each had looks at the net; at the doorstep in the latter case but Michkov was unable to handle a pass.

Frost was called for hooking Bratt in the New Jersey defensive zone with 33.2 seconds left in the period. The Devils took 1:28 of carryover power play time into the second period.

The second period was a letdown for the Flyers: outscored 4-0 and outshot 14-6. Additionally, the team lost Owen Tippett for the rest of the game.

At 54 seconds of the middle drame, the Devils scored a power play goal by Ondrej Palat (11th of the season) off a pass from Jack Hughes.

Without touching the puck, Tippett was hit in open ice by Brenden Dillon at 1:21. Tippett went down the tunnel and did not return to the game. Tortorella screamed from the bench for an interference penalty, but no call was made.

The Flyers went to their second power play at 2:00 of the first period on a Curtis Lazar interference minor against Richard. Twenty-three seconds later, however, Foerster was called for a holding-the-stick penalty behind the New Jersey net.

During the 4-on-4, Michkov broke out on a 2-on-1 with Frost. Michkov didn't score (his shot attempt was blocked) but drew a slashing penalty on Jack Hughes.

The Devils made it 2-0 on a transition rush at 6:27 as Luke Hughes ripped a shot past Samuel Ersson. The goal was unassisted.

Thirty-nine seconds later, Garnet Hathaway and Johnathan Kovacevic were in the middle of a tussle. Both received roughing double minors. Kurtis MacDermid and Nick Seeler got two-minute minors.

At 7:56, the Flyers went to their fourth power play as Stefan Noesen received four minutes of penalties (interference and roughing) and Drysdale two minutes (roughing). The Flyers had extensive puck possession this time but couldn't put shots on net as three deflections/tips went wide.

At the other end, Ersson stopped two golden scoring chances for New Jersey. The Devils went to their third power play at 10:57 on a hooking minor called on Sean Couturier.

New Jersey opened a 3-0 edge as Nathan Bastian (PPG, 3rd) potted a loose puck in front at 12:41. The assists went to Timo Meier and Luke Hughes.

Sixty-one seconds later, the gap grew to 4-0 as the Flyers lost coverage after an initial blocked shot. Mercer (13th) scored from the right slot to the short side, assisted by Meier and Brett Pesce at 13:43.

That ended the night for Ersson (four goals against on 16 shots). Ivan Fedotov entered the game and stopped nine of 10 shots.

New Jersey created a 5-0 lead at 1:58 of the third period. The Devils attacked 2-on-1 after Joel Farabee lost the puck up high in the offensive zone. A give-and-go between Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt turned into a slam dunk for Hughes (20th). The second assist went to Pesce.

Seeler took an interference penalty against Bastian at the offensive blueline at 14:35, preventing a breakaway. New Jersey went to its fourth power play.

Special teams hurt Philly. The Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play. They were 1-for-3 on the penalty kill.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

71 Tyson Foerster - 27 Noah Cates - 10 Bobby Brink

74 Owen Tippett - 48 Morgan Frost - 11 Travis Konecny

86 Joel Farabee - 21 Scott Laughton - 39 Matvei Michkov

90 Anthony Richard - 14 Sean Couturier - 19 Garnet Hathaway

6 Travis Sanheim - 9 Jamie Drysdale
8 Cam York - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen

24 Nick Seeler - 77 Erik Johnson

33 Samuel Ersson

[82 Ivan Fedotov]

PP1: Drysdale, Richard, Cates,Michkov, Foerster

PP2: Ristolainen, Frost, Konecny, Tippett, Brink

Scratches: 5 Egor Zamula (upper body), 44 Nicolas Deslauriers (IR), 25 Ryan Poehling (upper body), 18 Rodrigo Abols (healthy).

TURNING POINT

The Devils have been one of the NHL's top second-period teams while the Flyers have struggled in second periods. This did not come into play in the previous two meetings this season between the teams. This time, a scoreless game turned into a cavernous four-goal deficit for the Flyers. Frost's hooking penalty late in the first period quickly turned into Palat's power play goal. Things went downhill from there.

POSTGAME 5 ("5 Things" Revisited)

1. Shot Suppression: The Flyers blocked 24 shots. The issue on this night was that Devils cranked up their transition game and got attackers to the net. For the most part, New Jersey found little time or space in the previous two matchups. That came to an end in the second period of this game.

2. Couturier returns from illness: The Flyers' captain had three shots on goal and won 13 of 18 faceoffs in this game. His near-goal in the scoreless first period was reviewed on replay to ensure that it did not cross the goal line.

3. The Foerster Factor: Tyson Foerster opened the game with a solid check on Dawson Mercer on the game's first shift. Later in the first period, Foerster had a one-timer chance from the right circle and a solid individual effort on the rush. As with most of his teammates, the first period was the best portion of the game for Foerster.

4. Between the pipes -- Ersson vs. Allen redux: Ersson deserved a better fate on this night. The four goals he allowed were not "goalie's fault" types of tallies. At the other end, Allen made several tough saves -- especially in the first period but intermittently thereafter -- to earn the shutout.

5. Ristolainen and Hathaway: Garnet Hathaway (13:28 TOI) came close to breaking up Allen's shutout bid in the third period. The role-playing forward played his usual feisty and physical style. Ristolainen played 19:59 and recorded three blocked shots.