Flyers Contain Devils for 4-2 Win in Second of Three January Meetings – The Hockey Writers – NHL News

After a low-event game at the Prudential Center on Jan. 18, the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils found themselves face-to-face once again on Monday night, this time in the City of Brotherly Love. When the teams last played, the Flyers were playing some of their best hockey of the season, in the midst of a 5-0-1 stretch that featured gaudy play-driving numbers.

Since then, their offense dried up, with the team managing a combined two goals in their previous two games, both regulation losses against other Metropolitan Division foes. But with recently minted NFC Champions Cooper DeJean and Sydney Brown in the building, the Flyers rode the wave of momentum in the city created by the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl appearance-clinching win on Sunday. Monday’s game didn’t count for nearly as much, but the Flyers once again stymied the dangerous attack of one of the NHL’s top teams, earning a 4-2 victory over the Devils.

Game Recap

The Devils had a golden opportunity to start the scoring early just as they did the last time they played the Flyers. Philadelphia’s second most-used penalty killer Rasmus Ristolainen drew blood from the face of Ondrej Palat, giving New Jersey a four-minute power play less than four minutes in. Not only did the Flyers kill it off, they were arguably the more dangerous team, generating as many scoring chances (two) as the Devils.

Philadelphia’s penalty-killing excellence stood out even more when the Flyers scored six seconds into their lone power play of the first, as Bobby Brink’s long-range one-timer bounced off Brett Pesce and completely changed directions on Jake Allen. On the next shift, Allen could not come up with a clean save on a wrist shot by Scott Laughton, who had one of the team’s shorthanded chances and drew the penalty that Brink capitalized on. Laughton, playing for the first time since Jan. 18 after missing three games due to personal reasons, picked up a primary assist when Joel Farabee jammed the rebound under Allen for his fifth goal in six games and his team’s second in 28 seconds.

The Flyers picked up another greasy goal early in the second period as Garnet Hathaway tipped in a Cam York wrist shot just 2:49 in. After generating just one shot in the back half of the third period, the Devils rediscovered their A-game, pressing Samuel Ersson heavily. Some of their best chances came during a two-minute four-on-four stretch after Nick Seeler laid a thunderous check on Nathan Bastian, sending the Devils forward down the tunnel (Seeler and Dougie Hamilton received post-whistle penalties; the hit itself was ruled clean).

Shots were 11-2 Devils halfway through the second, but the Flyers again controlled play in the back half of the period. Despite that, the Devils got back in the game on a “bar-down” goal by Hamilton that hit the crossbar, popped high in the air, and trickled over the goal line upon returning to Earth.

The Flyers didn’t let that goal faze them largely turning in a strong defensive effort in the third period. Allen was actually the busier goaltender in the final 20 minutes, robbing Garnet Hathaway and Brink of potential one-timer goals. Those saves loomed especially large when a Timo Meier one-timer found twine with 1:22 to play, keeping hope alive for New Jersey. But that was as close as they would get, with Laughton sealing the victory with an empty-net goal.

In contrast to the Flyers’ most recent game, a loss to the New York Islanders on Friday that was pretty comparable in score and shots to Monday’s, the Flyers had much more energy in a well-played, physical game. But a team is only as good as its next game, and the teams will have to wait less than 48 hours for another matchup when they head to the Prudential Center for a nationally televised Wednesday night tilt.