I know it wasn’t what the Flyers fans wanted, but the Devils were able to break their 10 game winless streak by holding on to a 6-4 win in a back and forth game.
It was a very quiet first period as both teams were battling it out trying to get on board first. With one minute left to go in the first period, the Devils moved the puck well and Nico Hischier snapped a shot that that was initially blocked by Flyers Robert Hägg before Hischier finished it and put it through past Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott on the right hand side of the net to make the score 1-0.
The Devils kept the momentum going early in the second period as they secured a power play goal on a wrist shot by a Pavel Zacha to make the score 2-0 Devils.
Late in the period, Miles Wood ripped a long distance shot that zipped right through Brian Elliott to make the score 3-0. Devils.
Ten seconds after Wood’s goal, the Flyers finally got a goal when Oskar Lindblom wristed a shot (assisted by Jackson Cates and Nolan Patrick) that trickled through Devils goaltender Blackwood’s legs to make the score 3-1. This was also Cate’s first NHL point.
Just 2:24 in to the third period, the Flyers got within one goal as Philippe Myers snapped a shot through MacKenzie Blackwood’s right armpit to make the score 3-2 Devils. That was Myers’ first goal of the year.
A minute later, Flyers Claude Giroux made a great move right in front of Blackwood and some how he got the puck to go in to the right side of the net to tie things up at three a piece in the third period. Giroux is just on fire here lately as he now has three goals in his last two games played.
Midway through the third period the Devils Connor Carrick blasted another wrist shot by Brian Elliott and into the left corner of the net for a goal to make it a 4-3 Devil lead.
Four minutes later, the Flyers came back to tie the game after a wrist shot by then Sean Couturier and it Devils goalie MacKenzie Blackwood. Later last night the goal was officially awarded to Travis Sanheim with Sean Couturier getting an assist. 11 seconds later, Yegor Sharangovich jumped on a loose puck and poked it past Brian Elliott to give the Devils a one goal lead again at 5-4.
The Flyers pulled their goalie with more than two minutes left in the third period and put a lot of pressure on the Devils, but could not convert any of their chances. Eventually, the Devils broke out of the defensive zone and scored an empty net goal by Mikhail Maltsev to make the final score 6-4.
Devils get the win, 6-4. The Flyers fall to a record of 22-20-7.
Egor Zamula (From audio I received from Zack Hill) said before the game: “I feel great. Probably the best day of my life to my parents, and to me. I’m ready to play, and win this game.” Well, Egor Zamula logged 19:19 of ice time, was a +1, blocked 1 shot, registered three shots on net, and had one takeaway. Zamula was decisive and fast. Clearly he can play, and he will work on wrapping players up in the corner. Very good debut nonetheless.
“It was the best feeling in the world,” Zamula said following the game. “Try working hard every shift, and faster. I want to play at best level.”
NEXT UP: The Flyers are back at it on Thursday, April 29 in Newark, NJ to take on the Devils again for their third game of their five game series between them. Puck drop is at 7 PM EST and can be seen on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
