Hischier powers Devils past Flyers with late goal

NEWARK, N.J. -- Rookie Nico Hischier scored with 1:27 left in the third period to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Prudential Center on Thursday.
Hischier, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, scored his first goal in 11 games and his second game-winner in the League when he tipped in a pass from Blake Coleman while fighting off a check from defenseman Robert Hagg in the slot.

"I'm not surprised by anything he does anymore," Devils coach John Hynes said. "What you have is a big-time player scoring a big-time goal for us at a key time, and that's why we drafted him where we did, because he's that type of player. He drove hard through the middle, gets into the hard area of the ice and finds a way to tip the goal in, and that's what this time of year is about."
WATCH: [All Flyers vs. Devils highlights]
Said Hischier: "[Coleman] makes a nice pass and I just reached for the puck and got a little tape on it, and luckily it went in."
Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist, Drew Stafford and Damon Severson scored, and Pavel Zacha had two assists for the Devils (26-16-8), who won for the first time in three games against the Flyers this season. Keith Kinkaid made 22 saves.

"It's a good character win, and we showed a lot of heart and trust in each other to get the job done," said Palmieri, who turned 27 years old on Thursday. "It's good to get rewarded for that."
Severson tied it 3-3 when he one-timed a pass from Zacha between the circles with nine minutes left in the third.
Wayne Simmonds and Shayne Gostisbehere each had a goal and an assist, Claude Giroux scored, and Jakub Voracek had two assists for the Flyers (24-19-8), who have lost three games in a row. Alex Lyon made 18 saves in his first NHL start.
"[Lyon] played a solid game; he gave us some real good saves at different times in the hockey game," Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said. "We had a couple of opportunities to defend the [Devils third goal] a little bit better in front of him, but I thought he gave us a good hockey game."

Gostisbehere gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead with his 10th goal 7:01 into the second period.
"I feel bad for Alex, we kind of let him down there," Gostisbehere said. "It's about getting back on the horse. There is a lot of hockey left. We have to get some wins here."
The Devils and Flyers combined for four power-play goals and 36 penalty minutes in the first period.
Palmieri gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a slap shot from the right face-off circle at 3:42, before Giroux tied it 1-1 at 6:47 on a 5-on-3 advantage.
Stafford scored his first goal in six games off a deflection in the slot to give the Devils a 2-1 lead at 13:49, before Simmonds scored from the slot off the rebound of a Voracek shot at 15:46 to tie it 2-2.
"I think if you watched how both teams competed, the emotions out there, it was tight checking and there wasn't a lot of time and space out there," Hynes said. "It was a playoff-type game, and I thought both teams played real hard. Fortunately, we found a way to win it."

Goal of the game

Hischier's goal at 18:33 of the third period.

Save of the game

Kinkaid stopping Scott Laughton at 13:44 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Severson's goal at 11:00 of the third period.

They said it

"It's a sour way to end a hockey game, but we played hard and gave the effort. I thought our guys were all in tonight. We played well in the last 10 minutes of the third period, and I really liked our response after giving up the tying goal. You play good, sound, 200-foot hockey, and I thought we did that." -- Flyers coach Dave Hakstol
"What I like most about the win was the fact it was kind of an up-and-down game that could go either way, but in the end we find a way to win. During [a four-game losing streak], we couldn't find ways to win these games, but his time we did so it feels good. Winning is always a good feeling." -- Devils center Nico Hischier

Need to know

An interference call against Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas at 14:48 of the first period was his first penalty in 21 games since returning Dec. 12 from a 10-game suspension for slashing Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault. ... Voracek has 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in the past 12 games. His 50 assists lead the NHL. ... Devils forward Taylor Hall extended his point streak to nine games (six goals, eight assists).

What's next

Flyers: Host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, NBCSP, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV)
Devils: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+ 2, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)