Yegor Sharangovich netted two goals, Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves, and the New Jersey Devils secured a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
Jesper Boqvist, Pavel Zacha, and Jesper Bratt also found the back of the net, helping the Devils to their second consecutive win after enduring a 10-game winless streak. Defensemen Damon Severson and Will Butcher each contributed two assists.
Philadelphia saw goals from Scott Laughton, Sean Couturier, and Travis Konecny, while Alex Lyon stopped 14 shots. The Flyers have lost three of their last four games and were officially eliminated from playoff contention with this defeat.
“This is definitely not how we envisioned this season going,” Laughton said. “We had high hopes, but it didn’t come together.”
Boqvist restored New Jersey’s two-goal lead at 9:00 of the second period, capitalizing on a Flyers turnover in the neutral zone. Nicholas Merkley set up the Swedish forward, who hammered a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle to make it 3-1.
Zacha further extended the Devils’ lead to 4-2 with a short-side wrist shot at 13:15 of the third period, providing some insurance.
Bratt capped the scoring with an empty-net goal late in the third, ending an eight-game goal drought.
“Obviously, you always want to start strong,” Boqvist said. “We dipped early in the second but came back and finished strong in the third.”
Couturier brought the Flyers within one goal with a tap-in at 12:17 of the second period. Justin Braun found Couturier unmarked near the crease, setting up the goal. Jakub Voracek and Couturier each extended their point streaks to five games with the play.
“Most of our five-on-five chances are coming from Couturier’s line,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. “We need more contributions from other players, no matter how hard they’re working.”
Sharangovich scored with a power-play goal at 8:10 of the first period. The Belarusian forward fired a shot from the right faceoff circle that slipped past the Flyers goaltender between the glove and shoulder. Will Butcher and Severson assisted in the play.
Sharangovich doubled the Devils’ lead with his second power-play goal of the first period at 15:28. Severson found the rookie darting toward the back post, where Sharangovich made a slick move to his backhand to score. Janne Kuokkanen also earned an assist on the play.
Sharangovich finished April with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists), leading the team for the month.
Devils rookies have now recorded a combined 106 points this season, the highest total in the NHL, outpacing the Ottawa Senators by a wide margin.
Laughton narrowed the Flyers’ deficit with a short-handed goal at 7:14 of the second period. The forward blocked a dump-in attempt by Devils defenseman Ty Smith and converted the ensuing breakaway with a patient forehand move. Laughton ended a 25-game goal drought with his eighth of the season.
“It would have been nice to get one when we were still fighting for a playoff spot,” Laughton said. “It’s good to score, but it doesn’t mean much at this point.”
Konecny added his 10th season goal at 18:10 of the third period.
HART OUT
Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, who has not played since April 15 due to an injury sustained during a 2-1 shootout win against the Penguins, will miss the remainder of the 2020-21 NHL regular season.
UP NEXT
- The Flyers and Devils wrap up their four-game series on Saturday evening in Philadelphia.
