The struggling Philadelphia Flyers faced a formidable challenge in New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
Blackwood, who had never lost in regulation to the Flyers in nine previous encounters, continued his dominance on Wednesday night.
With 25 saves, Blackwood led the Devils to a 3-0 victory, ending their four-game losing streak and extending the Flyers’ losing streak to ten.
“I felt like, you know, we really needed a win tonight,” Blackwood said after securing his second shutout of the season and eighth of his career. “I felt like we should have gotten a win last game as well, we played pretty well last game and tonight, but it was definitely a must-win for us. It’s great that we came out on the right end of that.”
Jesper Bratt opened the scoring in the second period and later assisted on Dawson Mercer’s power-play goal. Michael McLeod sealed the game with an empty-net goal as the Devils defeated the Flyers for the second time in ten days.
“I thought it was probably our best defensive game. There were not a lot of breakdowns, a couple that Mackenzie had to clean up for us,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. We were diligent with our play in our own end, put the puck in a lot of good places, had people back, protected the middle of the ice, and played a solid game.”
Carter Hart made 24 saves for the Flyers, who are now 0-2 under interim coach Mike Yeo, who replaced Alain Vigneault on Monday.
Yeo emphasized the importance of focusing on the present, especially with five games in seven days.
“If we’re sitting here and looking at the losses that are piling up and the streak that we’re on right now and all the stuff that’s happened, then we’re really not looking at what’s ahead of us,” Yeo said. “Obviously, that affects your preparation and your time at the moment. So we must find a way to take advantage of each day we have right now.”
The Flyers’ ten-game losing streak (0-8-2) is two shy of their longest winless streak. The 12 games (0-8-4) record was set from Feb. 24-March 16, 1999. Philadelphia’s last win was a 2-1 victory over Calgary on Nov. 16.
Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim acknowledged the team’s recent struggles.
“Obviously we’ve got to be better. We know that,” he said. “I think a lot of that comes to confidence and obviously we don’t have a ton of that right now. So we’re going to try to get out there, get out of this together. No one else is going to help us.”
Bratt put the Devils ahead at 5:30 of the second period, scoring his seventh goal of the season off a cross-ice pass from Nico Hischier.
Mercer extended the lead with a power-play goal a little over six minutes later, tipping Ty Smith’s shot from the point past Hart for his seventh goal.
Blackwood’s standout save came in the third period when Sanheim’s backhand attempt in close was denied. Sanheim has yet to score a goal this season in 24 games.
A goal by Pavel Zacha was disallowed late in the second period after a successful offside challenge by the Flyers.
The Flyers and Devils will conclude their three-game season series on Dec. 14 in Philadelphia.
JERSEY PRIDE
The Devils debuted their new third jersey, a black sweater featuring the word “Jersey” on the front. The jersey has 21 stripes, representing New Jersey’s 21 counties. The Devils relocated to New Jersey from Colorado in 1982.
UP NEXT
- Flyers: Travel to Las Vegas to face the Golden Knights on Friday in the second of a three-game trip.
- Devils: Finish a three-game homestand on Friday against Nashville and former coach John Hynes.
