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Jack Hughes Secures Devils Win in Home Opener Over Flyers
Published: Friday, October 2, 2026
by Ryan Fox
NEWARK N.J. - The New Jersey Devils entered Thursday’s matchup against the Flyers eager to make a statement in their home opener and start of the 2026-27 season. The Devils are coming off a successful series of preseason hockey, with 3 wins out of 4 games.
Additionally, New Jersey is beginning the season after an extremely impressive offseason thanks to new hire, General Manager Sunny Mehta. Mehta answered fans' prayers by strengthening the depth of the young Devils team. Some of the most notable new additions are Luke Evangelista, Anthony Mantha, and Evan Rodrigues.
Thursday’s starting lineup consisted of Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Evangelista on offense, Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler on defense, and Jake Allen in goal.
Prior to puck drop, the organization honored Claude Lemieux, who passed away this past May. Lemieux won 2 of his 4 Stanley Cups with the Devils and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1995.
The first period of play opened up with great opportunities for the Devils. The Flyers are coming off of a 7-0 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins the previous night, whereas New Jersey has fresh legs on the ice. Nearly halfway through the first, New Jersey saw the first power play of the night but was unsuccessful on the man advantage.
Philadelphia found their footing first and broke the ice, with Rasmus Ristolainen netting one past Allen, handing the assists to Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny. Shortly after, New Jersey was sent back to the power play but were not successful once again. Just minutes later, New Jersey was on the man advantage for the third time of the night but failed to score. The first period of play wrapped up with the Flyers leading 1-0.
In goal for Philadelphia stood Joseph Woll, his season debut for the Flyers after spending his entire career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Woll entered tonight's matchup with a .906 SV% and a 2.94 GAA. New Jersey netminder, Jake Allen also returned for another season with the Devils after 2025 - 2026 goaltender; Jacob Markstrom was traded to the Florida Panthers this offseason. Allen took the posts with a .907 SV% and a 2.74 GAA.
Early in the second period, Evangelista took a tripping call, putting the Flyers on the power play. Philadelphia wasn’t able to up the score, giving New Jersey the opportunity to come back. New Jersey’s offense was buzzing all throughout the second, managing to get 16 shots on goal, while only holding Philadelphia to 8. In the final minutes of the period, Hamilton was able to find the back of the net for New Jersey. The second period wrapped up at 1 a piece.
In the opening seconds of the final period, New Jersey was back on the power play but didn't manage to score. After some back and forth between the teams, Travis Sanheim upped the deficit in favor of Philadelphia, handing the assist to Sean Couturier.
Halfway through the final period of play, Luke Hughes was able to find the back of the net against Woll, off of a cross-ice pass from Evangelista. With the game tied 2 a piece, New Jersey was eager to take the lead. The third period simmered down to back-and-forth shots on both ends of the ice, sending the game into overtime.
After a dominant overtime performance by New Jersey, Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes broke out on the 2-man rush, where Hughes was able to make the final statement against Woll. Hughes tossed his stick into the crowd, a callback to his celebration in the 2021 home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The New Jersey Devils took down divisional rival, the Philadelphia Flyers at home Thursday and will look to continue their win streak against the New York Islanders this Saturday at UBS Arena with a 7:30 P.M. puck drop.
Ryan Fox can be reached at ryan.fox@student.shu.edu
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