Zegras has 3 points, Flyers cruise past Devils to win 3rd straight

NEWARK, N.J. -- Trevor Zegras had two goals and an assist for the Philadelphia Flyers, who maintained their hold on third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Tyson Foerster scored twice for the Flyers (40-26-12), and Matvei Michkov had two assists. Dan Vladar made 23 saves for Philadelphia, which is 6-2-0 in its past eight games.

"It's nice to score to help the team win," said Zegras, who set his career high with 25 goals. "I feel like you look at it more like that, and obviously that was a big two points for us. So I'm more excited about that."

The Flyers have won 15 of 21 (15-5-1) and moved within four points of the Pittsburgh Penguins for second in the Metropolitan. Philadelphia has not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2020.

"It feels like for almost a month now, we've been playing must-win games, so definitely getting more comfortable and definitely settling in a little bit for sure," Zegras said. "Personally for me, I haven't played any games other than this season of this magnitude and I think a lot of the other guys would say the same, so it's been great"

Cody Glass scored for the Devils (40-35-3), who were eliminated from playoff contention. Jacob Markstrom made 14 saves.

"It's difficult, it's embarrassing, I don't like it," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. "I've coached for 20 years, this is the first time I won't be participating in the playoffs at any level. So it's not fun. I've never been in a situation like this, but we've earned this. It is what it is."

Zegras gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 1:56 into the game, scoring from the right circle off a pass from Travis Sanheim. Owen Tippett started the play by cycling around the net and passing to Sanheim in the left circle.

Zegras scored his second of the period for a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal at 3:38, tipping in a pass from Porter Martone.

Zegras had his fifth two-goal game of the season and tied his career high in points with 65. Acquired in the offseason from the Anaheim Ducks, the six-year veteran has yet to play in the playoffs.

"Right from the beginning when Trevor came to us, he wanted to play meaningful games," Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. "I hate using the word 'playoffs' but he wants to make the playoffs, right? He hasn't played a playoff game. I think he wants to prove a lot of people wrong. He played with a chip on his shoulder this year."

Glass got the Devils within one at 12:12 when Jonas Siegenthaler's shot from the slot deflected off a jumping Glass, then off Vladar's mask and into the net.

Foerster made it 3-1 at 2:46 of the second period, scoring on a 2-on-1 with Tippet when he kept the puck and took a wrist shot from the right circle.

Foerster scored again at 4:58 for a 4-1 advantage, converting a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zegras and Michkov.

"It's incredibly disappointing, not just about tonight but how the season has gone," Glass said. "… It was a big challenge today against a team that's really hungry with getting in the playoffs and we start just terribly."

It was the first game for the Devils since general manager Tom Fitzgerald was fired on Monday after 11 seasons with the team, including the past five as GM and executive vice president.

"If you're down 2-0 quick, it's never a good start and after that I think we played a little better but made a couple mistakes and ended up in the back of our net,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “They packed it in pretty good and we couldn't answer back."

Nick Seeler scored an empty-net goal from his own zone at 17:09 for the 5-1 final.

"It's been great," Tippet said. "Obviously, we believed all year that we could be in this position, and the job's not done yet. We got to continue going. Like I said, we're having a lot of fun."

NOTES: The Flyers swept the season series with the Devils, outscoring them 16-7 in the three games. Zegras had six points (four goals, two assists) in the three games. … Zegras (3:38) scored the second-fastest two goals by one player to begin a game in Flyers history, behind Brian Propp (1:58 on Feb. 27, 1982).