Postgame 5: Flyers Drop 3-2 OT Decision to Devils

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the New Jersey Devils, 3-2, in overtime at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday evening. Erik Haula tallied the winning goal at 2:38 of sudden death. Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton earned the assists.

The Flyers got on the board first with a very nice goal off the rush. Emil Andrae made a tape-to-tape outlet pass up to Wade Allison. The power forward lost the handle but it turned into a give-and-go. Bobby Brink made a perfect feed back to Allison, who finished it off on the backhand at 2:04.

The Devils drew even at 8:38 of the first period. In the waning seconds of a Flyers power play, Andrae's shot was blocked and turned into a 2-on-1 counterattack. Curtis Lazar received a pass from Tyce Thompson (past a sliding Andrae) and converted it into a goal.

New Jersey took a 2-1 lead at the 16:42 mark. Alexander Holtz received a feed from Nico Hischier, and made it 2-0 from point-blank range. Timo Meier received the secondary assist.

The second period was scoreless. After a methodical opening half of the third period, the Flyers started to assert themselves. The Flyers finally drew even at the 16:54 mark. Philadelphia's Matt Brown and Samu Tuomaala won a battle behind the net and Rhett Gardner converted it into the game-tying goal in front.

Carter Hart went the distance in goal for the Flyers. Hart stopped 19 of 22 shots. Vitek Vanecek played all three periods for New Jersey, denying 29 of 31 shots. 

Cam Atkinson (20:35 time on ice, three shots on goal) played his first game of the preseason, settling in as the game moved along. Travis Konecny (18:45 TOI, three shots on goal) made his first appearance of the exhibition slate. Sean Couturier (21:57 TOI, two shots, 68.4 percent on faceoffs) made his second. They three players saw time as a line combination in the latter half of the game.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Brendan Furry - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Wade Allison - Noah Cates -  Bobby Brink
Matt Brown - Tanner Lacyznski - Cam Atkinson
Olle Lycksell - Rhett  Gardner - Samu Tuomaala

Marc Staal - Sean Walker
Emil Andrae - Rasmus Ristolainen
Adam Ginning - Ronnie Attard

Carter Hart
[Felix Sandström]

POSTGAME 5

1. Apart from a miscue on the first New Jersey goal, Andrae had an impressive first period in terms of moving the puck from the D zone and creating a threat when activating up ice. He also bounced back well from his mistake and went on to play his best game of the preseason to date.

2. Hart had little to no chance on either of the Devils' two goals in the first period. He also denied a 2-on-0 breakaway and a 2-on-1. At 4:13 of the second period Hart, denied an Erik Haula breakaway after a pass through the middle caught the Flyers flat-footed. Allison had the best chance to intercept.

3. The Flyers had five of the game's first six shots (ending up with an 8-6 edge for the first period. Through 40 minutes, shots on goal were 17-16 Flyers. The Flyers were outhit 15-8 through two periods. 

4. The Flyers generated a couple of looks at the net in the last six minutes of the second period. Cam Atkinson, in his first game since April 2022, fired a couple of pucks on net, including one in which he elected to shoot as the puck carrier on a 2-on-1 with Couturier. On another sequence, Furry missed the net on a scoring chance.  Olle Lycksell also had a good look at the net but missed the target.

5 . Compared to Friday's fast-paced and an exciting (even by regular season standards) game in Boston, open ice was much harder to find in the third period on Saturday. With 8:03 remaining in the third period, Rasmus Ristolainen had a golden scoring chance off a Devils turnover caused by Noah Cates.  With 4:40 left in regulation, Brink had an opportunity from the right slot. Attard fired a puck on net through a screen with about 3:50 on the clock.

In overtime, Andrae had the first opportunity to win the game, as he joined the attack. The game ended at 2:28 as Erik Haula scored in sudden death.