Devils Lose 3-1 to Philadelphia Flyers

Published: Sunday, January 19, 2025

by Ryan Fox

NEWARK, N.J. - The New Jersey Devils (26-15-6) fell to the Philadelphia Flyers (20-20-6) 3-1 at home Saturday afternoon. The Devils entered the matchup sitting second in the Metropolitan Division just behind the Washington Capitals, while the Flyers sat fifth. New Jersey was eagerly looking for a win after facing a two-game skid earlier in the week to the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.  

The Devils struck first quick into the first period of play, where defenseman Dougie Hamilton netted his sixth goal of the season with Nate Bastian and Tomas Tatar grabbing the assists. New Jersey gained the first power play of the afternoon after Flyers’ Travis Konecny faced a tripping call on Jesper Bratt, but the Devils failed to capitalize on the man-advantage. 

Just a few minutes later, the Flyers went to the man-advantage. Luke Hughes was sent to the box for two minutes for tripping. Philadelphia was unsuccessful on their first power play of the night after an impressive kill from New Jersey’s defense. The Devils held onto their 1-0 lead going into the second period of play.

The second period picked up quickly after rookie Matvei Michkov netted one past Jake Allen on a breakaway to tie things up, scoring Philadelphia’s first goal of the game and giving Sean Couturier the assist. After some back and forth, New Jersey was sent to their second power play of the afternoon after a penalty was called on Flyer Jamie Drysdale for holding Devils Paul Cotter.  

In the second, it was clear that Philadelphia’s offense was eager to gain their first lead of the game, but New Jersey’s defense was able to hold them off. On the other hand, the Devils offense fell a bit flat with just seven shots on goal after 40 minutes of play, as they looked to pick up the pace in the third.

The final period of play seemed to start in favor of the Devils after Ondrej Palat set Jesper Bratt up for a beautiful one-timer goal. However, it was soon called off after being officially reviewed offsides. The Devils offense began producing more shots on net and seemed to slightly pick up the pace.  

Yet minutes later, after Philadelphia was sent to another power play, Bobby Brink gave the Flyers the lead, handing the assists to Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster. New Jersey pulled Jake Allen from net and gained some great shot opportunities with the man-advantage. However, Travis Konecny netted the empty net goal to put the knife in the coffin, ending the game.

The Devils will try to bounce back Sunday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators at home, with a 1 P.M. puck drop. The Devils are now 26-16-6, still sitting in second in the Metropolitan Division. 

Ryan Fox can be reached at ryan.fox@students.shu.edu. 

 

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