Hart makes 33 saves, Flyers defeat Devils to sweep two-game set

NEWARK, N.J. -- Carter Hart made 33 saves, and the Philadelphia Flyers scored two goals in the third period of a 3-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday.

Nate Prosser scored in his Flyers debut, and Erik Gustafsson had two assists for Philadelphia (5-2-1), which defeated New Jersey 5-3 on Tuesday.
Hart allowed 10 goals in his previous two starts.
"You have to be prepared to do all the right things, but it definitely feels good to come back," Hart said.
Michael Raffl put the Flyers ahead 2-1 at 2:10 of the third period when he tapped in the puck in the crease after Connor Bunnaman's shot went off the left post.
"We played one period with energy, and the guys that set the tone was Bunnaman's line with Raffl and [Nicolas Aube-Kubel]," Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault said. "They played hard, they played the right way, and they were in the right position. They made things happen out there, and they're a big reason why we won this game."
Claude Giroux scored his first goal of the season on a redirection in the slot of Gustafsson's slap pass from the left face-off circle to make it 3-1 at 6:26.

Scott Wedgewood made 14 saves for the Devils (3-3-1), who lost two straight games for the first time this season. It was his fourth straight start since goalie Mackenzie Blackwood was placed on the NHL COVID-19 list Jan. 21.
"I think we got away a little bit from our game (in the third period)," New Jersey forward Jesper Bratt said. "You try to create a little too much in the offensive zone and kind of got away a little bit from the actual positioning game and the defensive zone. I think that was one of the things that changed a little bit from the first two periods."
The Devils outshot the Flyers 24-8 in the first and second periods.
Damon Severson gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead on a wrist shot from the right circle at 7:11 of the first period.

Prosser tied the game 1-1 when he scored off a rebound at the right post at 9:23 of the first. It was the defenseman's first NHL goal since April 5, 2018, in his first game since Jan. 17, 2019, with the Minnesota Wild.
"Words can't really describe it," said Prosser, who signed a two-year contract with Philadelphia on July 1, 2019. "I never gave up hope over the last few years. Last year was down (in the American Hockey League) all year, and the year ended in March. Not playing a game until tonight was an eye-opening experience. I just wanted to kind of get those first few shifts out of the way, get my legs under me because I kind of was a little winded there at the start.
"I ended up finding my game by keeping it simple and smart."

Hart kept the game tied with saves on Andreas Johnsson with his glove while sliding to his left at 9:10 of the second period and against Jack Hughes at 12:47 on a shot from the slot on a 4-on-1 rush following an ill-timed line change by the Flyers.
"They say, never critique a win, but for two periods we had a couple lines there that weren't very effective," Vigneault said. "In the third, Bunnaman's line set the tone, and when we had some breakdowns ... no doubt Carter was a big part of us getting this win."
Devils coach Lindy Ruff coached his 1,500th NHL game, seventh most in history.
"The effort, energy, the way we skated, that's probably as good as we can play in the first 40 minutes," said Ruff, who is in his first season with New Jersey. "We were so good through the first forty that I think we pushed the envelope just maybe a little bit too far."
NOTES: The Flyers were 39-for-53 (73.6 percent) on face-offs. ... Philadelphia defenseman Ivan Provorov played a game-high 27:38 and had four blocked shots. ... Ruff is 739-557-126 with 78 ties with the Devils, Dallas Stars (328 games) and Buffalo Sabres (1,165). … Bratt had two shots on goal in 20:47 in his season debut after being removed from the NHL COVID-19 protocol list Wednesday.