Hughes brothers lift Devils to season-opening OT win against Flyers

NEWARK, N.J. – Jack Hughes scored with 1:37 remaining in overtime to lift New Jersey to a 3-2 season-opening win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Prudential Center on Thursday.

Jesper Bratt skated into the right circle and passed to Hughes down the slot for the winner.

"I think we've done that many times ... that give-and-go play right away," Jack Hughes said. "Definitely a great handle by (Bratt). That pass was a bit of a grenade that I sent his way. So, great handle, back to me, empty net. We've been doing that for years and look forward to doing it for a lot more years with him."

Hughes became the second player in franchise history to score 10 career overtime goals after Patrik Elias (16). 

Luke Hughes and Dougie Hamilton each scored, and Jake Allen made 23 saves for the Devils (1-0-0).

"I mean, Luke and Dougie are the two guys that need to drive it offensively back there," Jack Hughes said. "So, for them to both get on the board, Game 1, that should say something to our group that they're going to be up in the play and both of them are going to be challenging, having great years and pushing that whole defense core. They should be in the rush like that all year and giving us offense."

New Jersey finished 0-for-4 on the power play.

Travis Sanheim had a goal and an assist, and Rasmus Ristolainen scored for the Flyers (0-1-1), who lost 7-0 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. Joseph Woll made 41 saves in his Flyers debut. The 28-year-old goalie was acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 16.

"Not every game is going to be a perfect game, and I thought we did a good job and were opportunistic with our scoring chances," Woll said. "I thought we had a good chance to win it, so it's just disappointed we didn't finish the job. But I thought we did a great job throughout the game of keeping them to the outside."

Ristolainen gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead on a redirection from the slot at 11:12 of the first period. Sanheim took the initial shot from the point during a delayed penalty on the Devils and Woll pulled for a 6-on-5 advantage.

Hamilton made it 1-1 on a snap shot from the point that beat Woll inside the left post at 17:58 of the second period. Anthony Mantha provided the screen in front on the unassisted goal after Hamilton knocked the puck down inside the blue line on a clearing attempt by Flyers defenseman Cam York.

Mantha was making his Devils debut after signing a two-year, $9.5 million contract ($4.75 million average annual value) as a free agent on July 15.

Sanheim then gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead on a slap shot from the top of the left circle at 5:33 of the third period.

"I thought it was better tonight," Sanheim said. "I thought our guys battled harder for sure, but when you're turning over that many pucks and spending that much time in the defensive zone, it's hard to win hockey games."

Luke Hughes tied the game 2-2 for the Devils at 9:44 on a snap shot from the high slot. Luke Evangelista, acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on Sept. 1 before signing a five-year, $36.25 million contract extension ($7.25 million AAV) on Sept. 15, earned the assist.

"We knew we were playing well and controlling play, so you just got to find ways to score," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "They're defending hard. They blocked a lot. If you get one in that first period on the power play, it probably changes the game significantly, but we were unable to do so. You let the team hang around, so it makes it probably harder than it needed to be. 

"But you find your way through it, get your two points."

NOTES: Philadelphia acquired forward David Goyette in a trade with the Seattle Kraken in exchange for forward Devin Kaplan on Thursday. He will report to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. ... The Flyers had 32 blocked shots and defenseman Jamie Drysdale led with six blocks. ... The Devils are 8-1-0 when brothers Jack and Luke Hughes score in the same game. ... Jack Hughes scored his fifth goal in a season-opening game to tie Zach Parise and Bobby Holik for the second most in franchise history behind John MacLean (seven). ... Amadeus Lombardi skated 8:03 of ice time in his NHL debut for the Devils. "I won't forget being in the room when I'm about to go on the ice, my helmet's gone, and the guys are telling me go fix my hair," Lombardi said. "That was a cool moment. Just stepping on the ice. The speed of the game, first shift, stuff like that. It was pretty special."