First off, I
apologize for this post getting up late. Some family business to take care of
first and foremost.
But I did
record the game and got to see the Devils snap their 10-game winless streak by defeating
the Philadelphia Flyers 6-4 at Prudential Center on April 27 to claim their
fifth victory at home and first win anywhere since April 6.
Following
the collapse in Philly on Sunday, how would they respond? And with four of
their final eight games being against the Flyers, would they set a tone for the
homestretch?
Some lineup
notes to get to first, as Nolan Foote and Ty Smith returned to the lineup. Smith
was a game time decision but played. Mikhail Maltsev was also back from a trip
to the COVID Protocol list. Still out on that list are Jonas Siegenthaler and
PK Subban. Andreas Johnsson and Nick Merkley were the other scratches along
with Aaron Dell. Scott Wedgewood was the backup tonight.
Binghamton
coach Mark Dennehy was the guest on the MSG+ pregame show with Erika Wachter
and Bryce Salvador. He gave some insight into Foote, as well as Alexander Holtz,
Kevin Bahl and some other Devils prospects. If you can, I highly urge seeking
this out and watching it.
In goal,
Mackenzie Blackwood got the nod for the Devils. The Devils have earned at least
a point in every game Blackwood has started against the Flyers and tonight was
no exception.
Blackwood made
26 save on 30 Philly shots for an .867 save percentage. He stopped Philly’s
only power play shot (the Flyers were 0-for-2 on the power play – a double
minor for high sticking on Michael McLeod being the only penalty against the
Devils). He was 25-for-29 at even strength.
As for the Flyers,
they went back to Brian Elliott who stopped 21 of 26 New Jersey shots for an
.808 save percentage. He stopped the Devils’ lone shorthanded shot and was
1-for-3 on power play shots (the Devils were 2-for-2 on the man advantage) and
was 19-for-22 at even strength.
The Devils
were in their Reverse Retro green uniforms for the final time this season.
The McLeod
penalty was called 5:11 into the game as he high-sticked Sean Couturier on a
faceoff. A double minor was called due to McLeod drawing blood. The penalty was
reviewed cut the call on the ice was confirmed: it was four minutes for McLeod.
The Devils would kill this to set a tone for the night, although Claude Giroux
did hit the post early on in the power play.
Nico Hischier
got the Devils on the board on the power play 18:45 into the game. Pavel Zacha
played catch with Smith and got the puck back. He passed to Jack Hughes at the
far side of the Flyers’ net. His rebound came out to the captain at the other
side of the net and Hischier jammed it in to make it 1-0 Devils.
Following a
scrap between McLeod and Travis Sanheim after McLeod laid a hit on Couturier,
Sanheim also took a roughing call, putting the Devils on the power play. It was
now that Zacha doubled the lead at 2:20. Smith went down low to Hughes and he went
passed to Zacha, who was camped out in the high slot. He snapped it by Elliott,
who squeezed the puck but let it trickle by him. It was now 2-0 Devils.
At 5:14,
Miles Wood made it 3-0 unassisted when Damon Severson played catch with Ryan
Murray. They got it to Wood, whose initial shot was blocked but he capitalized
on his second chance and scored with Nate Bastian acting as a screen in front.
But just as
Giroux set a Flyers record for fastest time for one player to score two goals on
Sunday, the Flyers responded tonight.
Just 15
seconds after Wood’s goal, Oskar Lindblom scored at 5:29. Nolan Patrick took a
shot in front of the Devils’ net, the rebound came to Jackson Cates and he took
a swipe at it. Finally Lindblom poked it in to make it 3-1.
A weird play
at at the 9:29 mark of the second when Hischier hit the crossbar on a rush and
Bastian crashed the net and put the puck in as he dislodged the net itself. The
referee signaled a goal on the ice. The play was reviewed to see if the initial
shot by Hischier went in. Replay showed that he had, indeed, hit the crossbar,
and the Bastian goal was not called, so neither goal counted and it was still
3-1.
From there, the
Devils were about to have flashbacks.
In the
third, Philippe Myers scored unassisted at 2:24 in. The Flyers dug the puck out
of the corner and it got tipped to Myers. He was in the middle of the ice and
grabbed it, wristing it top shelf by Blackwood to make it 3-2.
Philly tied
things when none other than Claude Giroux scored at 3:34 into the third. Jakub
Voracek passed out of the corner to Giroux all alone in front. He walked in, made
a move on Blackwood, opening him up and scored to tie the game at three. Robert
Hagg had the secondary assist.
But it was
an unlikely hero that would get the Devils back into things. Connor Carrick
scored his first goal since March 6, 2020 on an individual effort when he
chipped the puck off the boards to himself to break into the Philly zone. He
then walked in and beat Elliott to give the Devils back the lead, 4-3. Smith had
the primary assist and McLeod the secondary. The goal came at the 8:04 mark.
But, the
Flyers would respond. Sanheim scored at 12:25 to tie things again.
The goal came
on a loose puck getting back to Couturier and he throwing towards net from the point
and Sanheim tipping it by Blackwood. That made things 4-4.
But 11 seconds
later, Yegor Sharangovich gave the Devils back the lead again. This time, Janne
Kuokkanen got the puck behind the Flyers’ net. There was some miscommunication
between Elliott and the Philly defenseman. Sharangovich stole the puck and came
back out in front, depositing it into the net and making it 5-4. His would go
down as the game winner at 17:36.
Maltsev
would add an empty nettter at 19:58 with McLeod and Carrick getting the assists.
That made it 6-4, our final and followed a mad scramble in front of the Devils’
net that saw Matt Tennyson make a heroic play.
Couturier
had a wide-open net to shoot at with Blackwood down and chose to slide it along
the ice and in. Tennyson dove across the crease and blocked the shot with the
shaft of his stick, blocking a sure goal for Couturier and what would have tied
the game again.
Instead, the
Devils were in the win column for the first time since earlier this month.
Philly
oushot the Devils, 30-27. The Devils won 44-percent of the game’s faceoffs with
Hischier leading the centers with a personal 59-percent winning clip. The Devils
outhit the Flyers, 21-15, had more blocked shots at 18 to the Flyers’ eight and
had more turnovers at 13 to the Flyers’ eight.
Time on ice was
led by Murray with 22:45 while Hischier led the forwards with 20:31.
Shots were
led by Jesper Bratt and Murray with four each. Hits were led by Bastian with
five. Blocks were led by Tennyson with three. Will Butcher led in takeaways
with three.
So, next up,
the Devils do it again. Trying to make it two in a row at Prudential Center,
the Flyers will stay in town for a Thursday night tilt between the teams at 7
PM.
Until then,
stay safe everyone!