The Devils put on a clinic against the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night, finding the back of the net five times while the Flyers struggled to find it even once. The Devils added two points to their record after their 5-0 win.
The first period was as slow as it could get and honestly was not looking to be in favor of the Devils. The Flyers ended the first frame with 10 shots on goal while the Devils only had seven, neither had the chance to bury one. Devils goaltender Jake Allen kept the Devils in the game and gave them a chance.
The second period is when the floodgates opened for the Devils. The power play got working early on and Ondrej Palat scored his 11th of the season and gave the Devils the 1-0 lead. They did not stop there as Luke Hughes flew down the ice with his brother, Jack, on his wing and nailed a wrist shot past Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson. A few minutes later the power play got going again and Nathan Bastian got himself back on the scoreboard, giving the Devils the 3-0 lead. A minute later the fun continued as Dawson Mercer joined in and added the Devils fourth goal.
It was only a matter of time until Jack Hughes also found the back of the net. A minute into the third period he gave the Devils the 5-0 lead. Allen continued to make save after save, giving himself his third shutout of the season.
Despite not making the ‘3 Stars of the Night’, Timo Meier had a spectacular night. He ended the night with two assists, two shots and three hits. Brett Pesce and Jesper Bratt also ended the night with two assists.
Both Hughes brothers ended the night with one goal and one assist, Luke earning the second star of the night, Jack earning the third star.
Allen showed why the Devils are in good hands while Markstrom is recovering from his MCL injury. His first period performance might be the sole reason why the Devils were able to turn this game into what it ended up as. Allen ended the night with 24 saves.
The Devils were able to respond well to their 4-2 loss on Monday against the Flyers. Offense, grit and intelligence were shown as the Devils were back to playing their style of play.
After a rough patch, the Devils are 3-1-0 in their last four, their three wins being impressive and dominant wins.
The Devils look to build off this win against the Buffalo Sabres and former head coach Lindy Ruff on the road on Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. ET.
