GAME STORY: Devils 5, Flyers 3

NEWARK, N.J.- On Wednesday following the Devils' practice session, forward Yegor Sharangovich was asked by the media what he wanted to accomplish in the final seven games of the regular season.
Sharangovich, 22, flashed a grin and replied: "Score more goals."
So it was said, so it came to pass.
Sharangovich scored two goals, both on the power play, for the Devils as they defeated Philadelphia, 5-3, Thursday night at
Prudential Center
.
Video: POST-GAME REPORT | Having a Bahl

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The Devils end their season series with the Flyers in Philadelphia Saturday night. You can watch on MSG+ and listen on the Devils Hockey Network,
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Game time is 7:08 PM ET.
Sharangovich hit a post late in the third period for what would have been a hat trick. And perhaps he thought of his wife after hitting said post.
"My wife told me that I could score three goals and I tried to score three goals," Sharangovich said, once again with a grin.
Sharangovich, who plays on the second power-play unit, scored his first goal with a wicked shot. He collected the puck in the near circle and snapped a shot through the 7-hole of Flyers goaltender Alex Lyon, squeezing the puck through the arm.
Sharangovich's second goal came off of a rush thanks to a beautiful passing display. The Devils entered the zone on the near side and no one picked up Sharangovich, trailing on the far side. He received a perfect through the slot. Sharangovich corralled the puck and then went forehand-backhand, easily shaking Lyon.
Jesper Boqvist, Pavel Zacha and Jesper Bratt also scored for New Jersey. Philadelphia had goals from Sean Couturier, Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny.
Here are some other observations from the game…
* The Devils starts plagued them during their nine-game regulation losing streak. In each of those nine games, they gave up the first goal and trailed at the first intermission.
In the past three games, which the Devils have gone 2-0-1, New Jersey has scored the game's opening goal and had a lead after the first period. In fact, the Devils have only given up three shots in each of the last two first periods against the Flyers. Three shots each game.
The first periods have gone from a weakness to a strength.
"It seems we've been on our toes, we've gotten the puck in deep, created some pressure," Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said. "Some of our pressure has given us the opportunity to draw some penalties and then our power play has been able to take advantage. I think that's been the biggest difference.
"Real solid first period. That power play was good. You create some confidence and you play well after that."
* On Wednesday, the Devils worked on their 6-on-5 play. They had surrendered two 6-on-5 goals against, 22 seconds apart, Sunday in an eventual shootout loss. They righted that Tuesday by holding on for a 6-4 victory.
The Devils were tested again as the Flyers pulled their goaltender with 4:24 remaining and trailing 4-2. Bratt scored an empty-netter quickly after to give New Jersey a 5-2 lead. But Konecny made it 5-3 with 1:50 to play. Philadelphia once again pulled their goaltender, but the Devils again met the challenge to preserved the 5-3 win.
"I really felt that guys paid attention (in practice). They did a great job," Ruff said. "They didn't give up any opportunities. We pressured the puck when we could pressure it. When they did get a puck to the net we had our guys in the right position and defended well."
* The Devils power play has erupted of late. The unit has scored on four of its past six opportunities. It started in the previous game Tuesday night against the Flyers when the man-advantage crew went 2-for-2 on goals from Nico Hischier and Pavel Zacha.
The Devils picked up right where they left off Thursday night. Sharangovich did the honors this time around, scoring twice as the crew went 2-for-4.
* The Devils' defensive future is today. The Devils started the game with a defensive pairing of Ty Smith and Kevin Bahl, who made his NHL debut in the contest. The two blueliners are expected to be two foundational pieces to the New Jersey backend for years to come.
"I was just very excited to get out there," Bahl said. "When I got out the rei was just trying to calm my emotions. Even before the game I was thinking about calming myself down. There's just so much pent-up energy going out there. You don't want to have too much adrenaline going out there.
"I'm so happy to get that win. Obviously, it's a very exciting moment for me."
Bahl, who played with several different defenders throughout the game, is a monster of a man, standing at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds. The 20-year-old defender takes up a lot of space with his reach and stick play. That was demonstrated by the British Columbia native when he picked off passes and took away lanes with his stick.
Bahl even received some penalty kill time late in the second period. He was back pedaling as the Flyers entered the zone on a 3-on-2. Bahl used his stick to knock the puck away from Claude Giroux, a pretty decent player, to deny a pass and/or shot.
Despite his size, Bahl is a decent skater. He showed that in the second period when he stepped up in the neutral zone to chip a puck. The play would lead seconds later into a goal from Boqvist.
"I thought Kevin gave us a solid game. Real good game for a first NHL game," Ruff said. "He didn't look nervous. I thought he handled every situation around him well. A real good first NHL game."
Bahl, who was a key fixture in the trade of Taylor Hall in 2019, was the seventh player to make his NHL debut this season for New Jersey: Smith, Mikhail Maltsev, Sharangovich, Tyce Thompson, Nolan Foote.
* Nice goal from Jesper Boqvist. Seconds after hitting the post he takes a pass high above the circles and just rips it top shelf.
* I loved seeing a little snarl out of Connor Carrick. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound defenseman exchanges some punches with Philadelphia's Travis Konecny. He followed that up by dropping the gloves with Joel Farabee. Carrick isn't he biggest guy by any stretch, but he certainly didn't back down.
Carrick also got the best of Konecny on a 2-on-1 rush halfway through the third period. He sticked away Konecny's pass attempt for James van Riemsdyk.