Three reasons the Flyers beat the Devils, 3-1
A shakeup on defense, and the return of the REAL Carter Hart, helped the Flyers earn their second consecutive victory.
Two trips up to North Jersey yielded four points for the Flyers. You’d think they’d be thrilled. Think again.
But a win is a win and here are three reasons the Flyers were able to squeeze out a 3-1 victory over the improving Devils on Thursday.
Trust the ‘Processor’
Erik Gustafsson’s going back into the lineup and Mark Friedman’s coming out wasn’t a surprise, but Nate Prosser’s going in and Robert Hagg’s getting benched was. Give Alain Vigneault credit — he does not have a long leash when it comes to his defensemen. Gustafsson had two assists, and Prosser, playing in his first NHL game in more than two calendar years, scored the Flyers’ first goal.
“The ‘Processor’ had a solid game‚” Claude Giroux said. “He’s a huge team guy. I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Prosser’s last goal was April 5, 2018, when he was with Minnesota. Among the sports topics that week were Gabe Kapler’s curious decision to pull Aaron Nola from the Phillies’ opener after he threw just 68 pitches and Villanova’s romping to its second national title in three years. Yeah, it was a long time ago.
Prosser played 13 minutes, 12 seconds, including an even 4:00 killing penalties. The Flyers were 4-for-4 on the PK.
Third-period surge
Vigneault was pretty upset with the Flyers’ first two periods when they were outshot by 24-8 and gave up 21 scoring chances. But they settled down in the third, something that’s been common this season. The Flyers have scored more than half their goals this season (15 of 28) in the third period; they lead the league in third-period scores.
“They say never [criticize] a win, but we played one period I thought with energy and the way you’re supposed to play on the ice,” Vigneault grumbled.
He was particularly upset at the top two lines (Claude Giroux-Nolan Patrick-Travis Konecny; James van Riemsdyk-Kevin Hayes-Jake Voracek), saying Friday’s day off will give them time to think. Consecutive games against the Islanders await when the Flyers get back on the ice Saturday (7 p.m., NBCSP).
“You have to ask the players [why they were ineffective],” Vigneault said. “I mean, it’s their responsibility to get themselves ready to be in a state of mind where they can compete and execute.”
Hart was smashing
Carter Hart played for the first time since a 6-1 loss to the Bruins on Jan. 23 and was the Flyers’ best player. He made 33 saves, including all six against Jack Hughes’ line and six others on Kyle Palmieri himself.
Hart said he spent some time after the loss to the Bruins strumming his guitar and learning the Smashing Pumpkins song Bullet with Butterfly Wings. He ended his personal three-game losing streak, in which he allowed a total of 14 goals and had an unsightly .846 save percentage.
“Hartsy bailed us out,” Michael Raffl said.