Hart gets first NHL shutout in Flyers' win against Devils

PHILADELPHIA --Carter Hart made 25 saves for his first NHL shutout, and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 4-0 at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

Hart (21 years, 57 days) is the youngest Flyers goalie with a shutout; Dominic Roussel was 22 years, 5 days old when he shut out the Calgary Flames on Feb. 27, 1992.
"Anytime you have a milestone, it is definitely pretty cool," Hart said. "But I think it's huge that we came out so hard in our home opener. The fans were really getting into it. We gave them something to cheer about, so I think that was a huge effort by us tonight to come out so hard."
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Flyers highlights]
Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny each had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia, which won its first game in North America after a 4-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday in the 2019 NHL Global Series at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.
Kevin Hayes and Sean Couturier also scored for the Flyers.
Cory Schneider made 30 saves for New Jersey, which has lost three straight to start the season (0-2-1).
"I thought the first was a good period for us," Devils coach John Hynes said. "Second period, we didn't get out of our own end enough. We got hemmed in with some execution things, weren't able to get in the offensive zone and have some pressure like we had in the first period. Then special teams were a factor tonight."
Philadelphia scored two power-play goals and allowed four shots on five New Jersey power plays, which included two 5-on-3 advantages.

"The 5-on-3 was unbelievable for us, and I think that's almost bigger than a goal sometimes when you get that momentum and you can come off that and even hear the crowd into it because they know how big of a kill that is," Konecny said.
The Flyers limited the Devils' zone entries to prevent them from setting up, and when they did have chances, Hart was there to make the saves. His biggest was a lunging glove save to rob Taylor Hall from the right side with 2:01 remaining in the second period during a 5-on-3 New Jersey power play to preserve a 1-0 lead.
"I kind of lost the pass in the middle there," Hart said. "And then I saw him winding up on the side so I just kind of had to quickly push over and stick my arm out, and luckily it hit me."
His teammates said the save changed the momentum of the game.
"It was a game-changer save," Couturier said. "And after that, I think you saw the way we came out in the third."

Provorov put the Flyers ahead with a power-play goal at 9:52 of the second period. Hayes scored a power-play goal, his first with the Flyers, 27 seconds into the third period to make it 2-0, and Couturier gave Philadelphia a 3-0 lead 30 seconds later.
Schneider said he felt Hayes' goal, which came off a scrum after a face-off, was the turning point of the game.
"It's on me not to let that one in," Schneider said. "I make the save, hopefully we get the kill and off we go. That changed momentum. They fed off it and got a second one right away."
Konecny scored his third goal in two games at 11:46 for the 4-0 final.

They said it

"It's so tight now in the standings, everybody's good. Special teams have to be the difference. We have to find a way to be better." -- Devils defenseman P.K. Subban
"Nice to get [it] out of the way early. Nothing worse than you're trying to score your first one and you're about 10 games in." -- Center Kevin Hayes on his first goal with the Flyers

Need to know

The Devils have lost three in a row to begin a season for the first time they went 0-3-1 to start 2015-16. … Provorov's two points give him 100 in the NHL. ... The Flyers have won their first games of a season for the first time since 2011-12. … Philadelphia defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere played his 300th NHL game.

What's next

Devils: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+, SNW, NHL.TV)
Flyers: At the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, NBCSP, NHL.TV)