Jake Allen made 24 saves for his third shutout of the season, and the New Jersey Devils erupted for four goals in the second period en route to a 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
Ondrej Palat, Luke Hughes, Nathan Bastian, and Dawson Mercer all found the back of the net during a dominant 13-minute span in the second period, helping New Jersey secure its third win in four games. Jack Hughes added his 20th goal of the season early in the third.
Allen, starting in place of injured Jacob Markstrom—who is sidelined for four to six weeks with a knee injury—earned his 27th career shutout.
Palat opened the scoring on a power play just 54 seconds into the second period. Luke Hughes doubled the lead at 6:27, and Bastian extended it with another power-play tally at 12:41. Just over a minute later, Mercer made it 4-0, prompting Flyers coach John Tortorella to pull goaltender Samuel Ersson in favor of Ivan Fedotov.
Timo Meier, Brett Pesce, and Jesper Bratt each recorded two assists.
Hughes capped the scoring at 1:58 of the third, bringing his season total to 60 points.
Devils captain Nico Hischier missed his second consecutive game after taking a cross-check from Montreal’s Nick Suzuki last Saturday.
Ersson made 12 saves before being replaced by Fedotov, who stopped nine shots in relief.
Takeaways
Devils: New Jersey improved to 15-8-4 at home and has gone 8-2-1 at Prudential Center since Dec. 12.
Flyers: Philadelphia dropped to 11-12-5 on the road and has struggled away from home, posting a 2-5-2 record in its last nine road games.
Key Moment
Palat’s power-play goal early in the second period swung the momentum in New Jersey’s favor after a scoreless first period.
Key Stat
Bratt now has 58 points in 53 games, following a career-best 83-point campaign last season.
Up Next
The Flyers return home to face the New York Islanders on Thursday, while the Devils travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Sunday.
