The Philadelphia Flyers returned to Metro Madness action with a game against the New Jersey Devils and the start of a home-and-home series. Scott Laughton returned to the lineup after dealing with family matters. Team captain Sean Couturier was out due to illness, Erik Johnson remained on defense, and Egor Zamula is still battling an upper-body injury. The Flyers would pull out a 4-2 win and go above hockey .500 at 23-22-6. They brought pressure all night long and got back on the winning track with two huge points.
.
The Devils got the game’s first power play at the 3:50 mark of the first period as Rasmus Ristolainen was called for high-sticking. Blood was drawn so it was a double-minor. Garnet Hathaway and Laughton had great chances while shorthanded and the Devils only managed to get a few shots on net. The Flyers also did a good job clearing the puck when given the opportunity.
The Flyers got their first power play at the 10:58 mark of the first period as Curtis Lazar got called for tripping. They capitalized on this chance and it only took six seconds. Bobby Brink’s slap shot from the blue line went off of Brett Pesce’s pants and past Devils goaltender Jake Allen’s glove. Ristolainen and Travis Konecny collected assists.
28 seconds later, Joel Farabee gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead at the 11:32 mark. Allen made the initial save on Laughton’s shot but allowed a rebound. Farabee collected that rebound and slid the puck through the legs of Allen. Laughton received the lonely assist.
Hathaway gave the Flyers a 3-0 lead at the 2:49 mark of the second period. He redirected Cam York’s wrist shot from the point past the glove of Allen. York and Ristolainen tallied assists.
The game went to four on four at the 7:24 mark of the second period as Nick Seeler was called for roughing and Dougie Hamilton for cross-checking. Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson had to make some huge saves on Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt to keep the Devils off the board.
The Flyers got their second power play at the 9:52 mark of the second period as Luke Hughes was called for tripping. Ersson had to make a big save on Jack Hughes while shorthanded. The Flyers had a few chances in tight but couldn’t capitalize on this one.
The Devils got on the board at the 18:47 mark of the second period. Hamilton’s shot went off the crossbar and Travis Sanheim went to whack the puck away and hit Ersson in the back with the puck and it went into the net. No assists were given.
Ersson played the puck over the glass without deflection and took a penalty at the 7:28 mark of the third period. This gave the Devils their third power play of the game. Ersson had to make some big saves to keep the Flyers two-goal lead. He definitely made up for his mistake. The Flyers also did a nice job clearing the puck.
The Devils pulled Allen with 4:07 left in the third period. They were able to pull within one at the 18:38 mark as Timo Meier’s slap shot from the left side deflected off of Hathaway’s stick and over the glove of Ersson. Bratt and Hughes were given assists. This made the score 3-2 Flyers.
Laughton scored an empty-netter at the 19:45 mark of the third period to put the game away for the Flyers. L. Hughes turned the puck over and Konecny was able to get it over to Laughton for the goal. Konecny received the lonely assist.
https://twitter.com/NHLFlyers/status/1884066882258682073
The Flyers went one for two on the power play and killed off all three Devils’ man-advantages.
Ersson had himself a great game as he had to come up with timely saves to keep the Flyers ahead. He saved 31 of 33 shots, giving him a .939 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Brink (7) (Power Play) Assists: Ristolainen (12), Konecny (36)
Farabee (8) Assists: Laughton (15)
2nd Period:
Hathaway (7) Assists: York (8), Ristolainen (13)
Hamilton (8) Assists: none
3rd Period:
Meier (15) Assists: Bratt (40), J. Hughes (39)
Laughton (10) (Empty Net) Assists: Konecny (37)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Wednesday, Jan 29. in New Jersey against the Devils.
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Stor
