Yegor Sharangovich scored the decisive goal at 12:36 of the third period, helping the New Jersey Devils secure a wild 6-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, ending their 10-game winless streak.
Nico Hischier, Pavel Zacha, Miles Wood, and Connor Carrick also found the net for the Devils, who twice saw their third-period leads erased by the Flyers. Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves, helping the Devils earn their first win since April 8, snapping an 0-9-1 skid. Mikhail Maltsev sealed the game with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.
“It feels much better to come into the locker room and celebrate a win,” said Hischier. “We had to learn from that. The game wasn’t easy, but we found a way to bounce back every time. In the end, what matters is we broke that streak and finally got a win.”
Oskar Lindblom, Philippe Myers, Claude Giroux, and Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers, who had previously rallied from a two-goal deficit on Sunday to defeat the Devils in a shootout. Brian Elliott made 21 saves for Philadelphia, whose playoff hopes are now nearly extinguished.
The Devils built a 3-1 lead by the end of the second period with power-play goals from Hischier and Zacha, along with Wood’s third goal in as many games. However, Lindblom quickly sparked the Flyers’ comeback by scoring 15 seconds after Wood.
The third period saw a flurry of activity, with six goals in total. Myers scored his first goal in 37 games this season, and Giroux, who had scored twice in the third period on Sunday, tied the game at 3-3 within the first 3:34 of the period.
Carrick, who spent most of the season in the AHL, gave the Devils the lead again at 8:04 with his first goal. But Couturier responded at 12:25, tying the game again with a shot from the side boards.
Just 11 seconds later, Sharangovich capitalized on a defensive miscue by Elliott and his defenseman behind the net, allowing the rookie to score into an empty net for the game-winner.
“There have been a few times where we’ve let those slip away this year,” said Devils defenseman Ty Smith, who contributed two assists. “But tonight was a step in the right direction for learning how to win.”
The Flyers had two great opportunities to tie the game with their goalie pulled. Devils defenseman Matt Tennyson made a crucial stop with his stick to prevent Couturier from scoring after beating Blackwood. Blackwood also made a key save against Giroux in close before Maltsev’s empty-netter secured the victory.
“We need to be better,” said Couturier. “We need to be ready from the start and be tougher to play against for a full game. When we’re on, we’re one of the best teams, but we have to be more consistent.”
This was the second of four consecutive games between the two teams. They will face off again in New Jersey on Thursday and conclude the series in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Game Notes
- Undrafted Russian defenseman Egor Zamula made his NHL debut for the Flyers.
- Devils forward Andreas Johnson missed his first game with a lower-body injury sustained on Sunday.
- New Jersey converted on its first two power-play chances after going 1-for-25 during their losing streak.
- New Jersey is 5-17-3 at home.
- Flyers rookie Jackson Cates recorded his first NHL point.
- Jack Hughes had two assists for the Devils.
