POSTGAME 5: Flyers Fall to Devils, 5-2

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, at the Prudential Center in Newark on Sunday evening. The Flyers winless streak is now at six games (9-4-2).

Defensive miscues by the Flyers proved fatal.
Dougie Hamilton deflected a shot home from the slot (6th goal of the season) to give New Jersey an early 1-0 lead. A Scott Laughton shorthanded goal (4th) late in the period knotted the score.
Andreas Johnsson (8th) restored a lead for New Jersey early in the second period. The Devils took the 2-1 lead into the third period.
Joel Farabee (7th) made it a 2-2 game early in the third period. Jesper Bratt (5th) restored the lead for the Devils with 8:03 remaining in regulation.Nathan Bastian (2nd) added an insurance goal. Johnsson (9th) tacked on an empty netter.
Martin Jones stopped 31 of 35 shots in a losing effort. MacKenzie Blackwood earned the win with 22 saves on 24 shots.
The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play. They were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
TURNING POINT
A routine puck exchange with no pressure nearby rapidly became dangerous as Rasmus Ristolainen's soft pass eluded Ivan Provorov's stick and went to the boards. Andreas Johnsson got to the puck first and fed Jesper Bratt for the go-ahead goal that proved fatal.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Hamilton hit the crossbar from the hashmarks about 4:50 into the first period and remained in the slot. At 5:07, he deflected home an Andreas Johnsson shot. Jesper Bratt got the secondary assist. Hamilton racked up five shot attempts in the first seven minutes of the game.
2) The Flyers escaped a couple turnovers including an Ivan Provorov giveaway into the slot that turned into a lengthy defensive zone shift. With 5:47 remaining in the first period, Philadelphia got the game's first power play on a Ryan Graves interference penalty. The Flyers had a couple of looks at the net but pucks eluded or bounced off sticks. A Joel Farabee slashing penalty in the final 18 seconds ended the man advantage.
With 50 seconds left in the Flyers' PK, Laughton shielded the puck from PK Subban and elevated a shorthanded goal over Blackwell's pads at 17:03. Provorov, who passed ahead to Laughton got the primary assist. Couturier was later credited with a secondary assist for an initial play at the defensive blueline.

First period shots on goal favored the Flyers, 9-7, but 5-on-5 shot attempts favored New Jersey (60.61 percent for the Devils). The teams combined for three high-danger chances (two for the Devils, and the Laughton shorthander for the Flyers). Philly won 15 of 21 faceoffs and blocked nine Devils' shot attempts. Max Willman had two shots on goal on one shift, and a team-high three for the first period.
3).Jones made an excellent one-on-one save on Johansson. Moments later, Ristolainen turned the puck over. Bratt fed Johnsson, who scored over the glove.Dawson got the secondary assist at 1:47.
At 6:06, Zack MacEwen and Mason Geersten mutually agreed to a fight off a center ice faceoff. It was a good tilt. The players exchanged respectful taps at the end.
With 7:04 left in the middle frame, Graves accidentally chipped the puck over the glass in the defensive zone for an automatic delay of game penalty. The Flyers generated a couple looks -- none better than an open chance in the left slot for Travis Sanheim teed up by Morgan Frost but went awry as Sanheim partially whiffed on his shot attempts. When play moved back to 5-on-5, the Devils had a scramble around the Flyers net after a Ristolainen turnover. It was finally Ristolainen that corralled and cleared the puck.
4) Late in the second period, both teams had a couple scoring chances. Hamilton prevented what looked like a likely Couturier goal on a Ristolainen rebound.A cross-crease pass from Farabee to Cam Atkinson narrowly missed connections. Second period shots were 14-9 in New Jersey's favor. Hamilton had nine shots on goal and 13 attempts through two periods.
Through 40 minutes, the Devils held a 5-on-5 shot attempt edge (60.53 percent). The Flyers blocked 7 Devils shot attempts in the period and15 through two periods. Second period scoring chances were 17-8 in New Jersey's favor. The Devils attempted numerous stretch passes throughout the frame. The Flyers won 23 of 37 faceoffs (62 percent) through two periods led by Connor Bunnaman winning six of eight.
5) A Justin Braun hooking penalty at the end of the second period sent the Devils into the third period with a two-minute power play. Pavel Zacha hit the crossbar through a Jimmy Vesey screen on the best Devils' chance.
At 3:04, Zacha tried to send the puck around the boards but it went off the referee's skate to Laughton. After a centering pass in front, Farabee scored to make it goals in three straight games and a 2-2 tie. The goal came on the Flyers' first shot on goal of the period.
With 13:16 left in regulation, Atkinson swatted an aerial puck in the Flyers' zone and knocked it over the glass. The result was a delay of game penalty. Vesey marginally tripped Ristolainen with 13 seconds remaining, ending the New Jersey power play. At the 11:00 mark, after the Flyers power play expired, Couturier was denied from the left slot after a centering pass from Konecny.
At 11:57, a botched puck exchange between Ristolainen and Provorov became a turnover. Johnsson fed Bratt, who made a move and scored to make it 3-2 Devils. The Devils made it 4-2 at 14:14. McLeod beat Provorov wide on the rush and went around the net. Keith Yandle went over to the other side. New Jersey then had the Flyers outnumbered near the net and Bastian tapped in a pass from Hamilton.

With 3:15 left, Atkinson was unable to score into what looked to be a half-open net. The puck went between Blackwood's legs. The Flyers won the next faceoff but lost the puck and Johnsson scored a long-distance empty net goal assisted by Mercer.