GAME STORY: Flyers 4, Devils 3 (SO)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -The Devils came within 86 seconds of ending their nine-game losing streak.
But they couldn't hold on to a 3-1 lead late in the third period as Claude Giroux scored two goals 22 seconds apart, the second coming with 1:04 left in regulation, as the Flyers' finished off the late comeback with a 4-3 shootout win Sunday night at Wells Fargo Center.
"That last minute was a little bit of panic," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "We tried to make the right play. We had a puck go off the referee. That happens. It goes off the referee, it goes right to them and you know the rest of the story."

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WHAT'S NEXT
The Devils return home to host the Flyers on Tuesday night. You can watch on MSG+ and listen on the Devils Hockey Network,
including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com.
Game time is 12:38 PM ET.
The Devils, who are now 0-9-1 in their last 10, built their 3-1 lead on goals from Michael McLeod, Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha. Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 33 of 36 shots.
"It's not easy," Zacha said. "We had one mission, to defend the 6-on-5, and we didn't. That's something we have to learn from. We have to win games like that."
Forward Sean Couturier also scored for the Flyers and Kevin Hayes ended the six-round shootout.
"It's tough, but I'm going to focus in on all the good stuff that we did," Ruff said. "There was so much good in that game. We have to get by that. I thought we had a little panic late in the last minute-and-a-half, but we'll get by that."
The Devils and Flyers face off in the next three contests, the upcoming two in New Jersey and the fourth in Philadelphia.
"We have to build on that," Zacha said. "For almost three periods we were skating better, we were the faster team. We created a lot of chances and we were winning the game, and then the end happened. We have to build on that and keep playing the way we did."
Here are some other observations from the game…
* You can call them the Bash Line, you can call them the BMW Line, but regardless, the trio of Nathan Bastian, McLeod and Wood have gotten their names called a lot lately. The triumvirate accounted for two of the Devils' three goals.
McLeod scored the game's opening goal, his eighth of the season, from a nice feed by Bastian while on a 3-on-1, with thanks to a great chip pass from Miles Wood in the neutral zone, to give the Devils their first lead in over two weeks. Then Wood helped the Devils regain that lead, 2-1, with a tap-in tally at the crease following a remarkable pass from Bastian, who was being mobbed and had to dive to knock the puck across to Wood.
"They scored a big goal for us (Saturday) and two goals in tonight's game," Ruff said. "That's the type of stuff you want to see. I'd probably be kidding if I said I'd like to see it every night. They're not going to score on a regular basis like that. But they've had an impact on a lot of our winning games."
* The Devils have been guilty of allowing a lot of odd-man rushes over the span of their losing streak. But against the Flyers, well, well, well, how the turntables.
The Flyers have had their struggles on defense all season. And their blueliners were caught flat-footed quite a few times throughout the game, and the Devils took advantage. New Jersey scored the game's first goal thanks to a neutral zone chip that set up a 3-on-1. Before that Zacha got in on a breakaway. New Jersey had a 2-on-1 rush on in the opening minute of the second period.
The Devils' speed was built to expose teams without mobile defensemen. And they took full advantage of the Flyers personnel - all 6-foot-1 or above - and mistakes to generate quality scoring chances.
* Ruff spoke five days ago about his team "flat-out" needing better goaltending. In his comments, which occurred after a 7-6 loss in Pittsburgh, Ruff said: "We've made some mistakes. Every team makes mistakes. … At the end of the day, I need my guys between the pipes to be the difference for us."
That couldn't have been clearer than in the third period when the Flyers had a 3-on-1 while New Jersey was trying to protect a one-goal lead. The always dangerous Giroux took the shot off the rush and Blackwood made the save. That was a save that helped force this game into the eventual overtime.
"We had one line that gave up a 3-on-1," Ruff said. "Those are the types of things that fuel the other team. We got away with that one. But those are the types of situations that we've been working on and talking about making sure we don't give up those opportunities."
* The Devils were looking for answers, and for a spark to conflagrate an end to their nine-game losing streak. Ruff had a suggestion one incendiary device could be scoring the opening goal in a game.
"I think that spark would be taking the lead," Ruff said. "That we capitalize on an early opportunity and maybe create a little bit of doubt for the opposition."
The Devils accomplished that, twice. They scored the game's opening goal 4:56 into the game from McLeod. That goal helped New Jersey carry momentum for much of the first period. And although they did surrender the game-tying goal at 11:45, the score was tied at 1-1 following 20 minutes of play. It was the first time in 10 games (April 8 at Buffalo) that New Jersey didn't trail heading into the first intermission.
And they carried a 2-1 lead into the third period, the first time New Jersey has had a lead after two periods since March 30 at Boston.
* One negative trend that creeped in the Devils' game has been giving up goals after icings. The Penguins and Rangers had used offensive zone face-off wins to score goals following an icing, and the Flyers did the same.
It's usually a missed pass or misread that leads to an icing that leads to a defensive zone face-off that leads to a lost draw that leads to a goal against. Couturier was the executer in the latest edition.
Face-offs are always important. But defensive zone draws following an icing, which usually features a tired group being forced to stay on the ice, are all the more important.
* What a story defenseman Colton White has been. He played Friday night for the Binghamton Devils, drove at 5 a.m. to Pittsburgh to play Saturday afternoon against the Penguins on little sleep and then went three games in three days with Sunday's contest in Philadelphia.
Playing three straight games is a rare feat in modern pro hockey, but this season has been anything but ordinary. White didn't just play, but played well under difficult circumstances. But as Ruff said before the game, "a player like that relishes any opportunity to get to play, whether it's a two-in-two, a three-in-three.
"It's a tough grind for him, but it's one that he welcomes."