Philadelphia Flyers lose to Metropolitan Division rival Devils in OT
Luke Hughes scored 28 seconds into overtime and Alexander Holtz, Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli scored in regulation, leading the New Jersey Devils to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
The Devils closed it out on a quick rebound in OT after they coughed up a 3-1 lead over the final 5 minutes of regulation.
Sean Walker gave Philly a shot when his fourth goal with 5 minutes left cut it to 3-2. Tyson Foerster tied it with 50.9 seconds left, recording their second power-play goal of the game after the Flyers entered with seven on the season.
The Flyers fell to 0-10-1 when the other team scores first.
Under second-year coach John Tortorella, the Flyers have played above the expectations set for a franchise expected to be among the worst in the NHL. They have 11 wins in 23 games, and entered fourth in the Metropolitan Division. They built that record on the strength of an 11-1-0 mark when they score first -- the league winning percentage this season for teams that score first is trending at about 70% overall.
Consider, the Devils are a eh-not-so bad 7-8-1 when trailing 1-0.
Allowing that first goal has been trouble for the Flyers.
The woeful power play has only hindered any comeback attempts. The Flyers entered with a puny seven power-play goals on 71 attempts, and no lineup combination had been able to fix the issue.
But after Hughes scored his eighth goal for a 2-0 lead, the Flyers actually managed a power-play goal. The Flyers pounded Akira Schmid with 23 shots in the second period and Morgan Frost knocked in his third goal of the year. Frost's goal made the Flyers 8 for 73 with the man advantage.
Hughes had scored with 4:48 left in the first, then only moments later watched his brother, Luke, get clobbered from behind by Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway. Hughes, a 20-year-old rookie defenseman, instantly grabbed his left arm and skated straight to the locker room. He did return in the second. Hathaway wasn't so lucky. He got socked with a game misconduct.
Hughes' arm didn't seem to bother him on the winner.
Carter Hart stopped 31 shots for the Flyers. Toffoli beat Hart on a power-play goal early in the third for a 3-1 lead.
Holtz snapped in his seventh goal of the season for a 1-0 lead 3:10 into the game.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the San Jose Sharks on Friday night.
Flyers: Play Saturday night at Pittsburgh.
