February 6th, 2020: Devils 5 / Flyers 0
The Philadelphia Flyers returned home to the Wells Fargo Center to take on Metropolitan Division rival, the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. In a virtually, “must-win” game for the Flyers, Brian Elliott would get the start between the pipes, coming off of a shutout win against Detroit on Monday night. Mackenzie Blackwood would be in net for the Devils. The Devils came into this game sitting at 29th place in the entire NHL, while the Flyers are still pushing for a wild card position in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In the first period, it only took 13 seconds for the action to start. Unfortunately for the Flyers, it was in the Devils’ favor when Blake Coleman stripped Flyers’ Phil Myers of the puck to put the Devils up 1-0 very early on. Coleman’s goal was the only offense of the first period, and the Flyers really did not have much energy or effort to show for.
In the second period, Jersey’s Damon Severson scored a Power Play goal to double the Devils lead only 80 seconds into the frame. Goaltender Blackwood would receive his first career assist on Severson’s goal. Although the Flyers did have more sustained pressure in the second period, outshooting the Devils 17-5, they still failed to capitalize. The Flyers’ best offensive opportunity came on the delayed penalty, when Jakub Voracek, playing in his 900th NHL game, hit the goal post on the tap in effort. At the end of the second, it was still 2-0 Devils.
Although the Flyers found themselves on the Power Play just a minute into the third period, Pavel Zacha cashed in a short-handed chance shooting the puck under Elliott’s glove to make it 3-0. The Flyers Power Play failed to get anything going, as the Flyers were more concerned with making passes through the slot, rather than shooting on net. Just three minutes later, the Flyers’ pass attempt lead to a turnover from Gostisbehere, giving Miles Wood a breakaway did not miss. The Devils were up 4-0 before the mid-point of the third period.
After Wood’s breakaway goal, Head Coach Alain Vigneault opted to pull goaltender Elliott with 15:37 remaining in the third. Alex Lyon took over in the crease for the Flyers. With 8:44 left in the game, Wood made sure both goalies got a taste, scoring on Lyon to make it 5-0. Scoring his second of the period and game, Wood got through both Myers and Travis Sanheim. By this point, the Devils had three shots on goal in the third period, and all three of them were goals.
The Devils beat the Flyers by a final score of 5-0. Even with the 5-goal loss, the Flyers out-shot the Devils 46 to 19.
The Flyers are back in action on Saturday, February 8th against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Cage Cleaning
- Defenseman Ivan Provorov recorded a milestone in this game, playing in his 300th consecutive match-up, never having missed a game.
- After being sidelined for ten games, Shayne Gostisbehere returned to the lineup tonight after recovering from a knee injury. Robert Hagg would sit as a healthy scratch in Ghost’s place, although Hagg’s performance as of late has been rather impressive. Gostisbehere’s final stats from Thursday night included a minus-1 rating, 3 shots on goal, and 2 blocked shots.
- The Flyers’ Power Play was extremely lackluster against the Devils. Going 0-for-4 on the PP, the Flyers were unable to capitalize on the man-advantage, even allowing a shorthanded goal in the process.
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