Trevor Zegras and Tyson Foerster help Flyers cruise to a 5-1 win over New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, N.J. ― The Flyers may have been livin’ on a prayer when the Olympic break hit but they kept the faith and now fans have something to believe in.

Kicking off their final five games of the season, the Flyers traveled up to the turnpike and beat the New Jersey Devils 5-1.

The Flyers have won three straight games for the sixth time this season, and the fourth time since the break. They are now 15-6-1 since the season restarted on Feb. 25.

The Flyers now have 92 points and remain as the third seed in the Metropolitan Division. They widened their lead to three points on the idle New York Islanders, who they have a game in hand on, but are now two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday. The Flyers’ win closed the gap on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were off, for the second spot in the division. Pittsburgh is ahead by four points.

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The game was less than four minutes old, and Trevor Zegras had a two-goal lead on the Devils.

Travis Konecny picked off a blind pass by New Jersey’s Timo Meier deep in the defensive zone and skated on a two-on-two with Owen Tippett. The speedy forward made a move like he was going to curl, but it was a fake, and he kept driving down the right wing past New Jersey defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler.

Using the net to give himself space, Tippett found Travis Sanheim cutting down deep into the left circle. The defenseman found Zegras standing all alone in the right circle, and he shot the puck quickly into the back of the net as Devils goalie Jacob Markström bit on Sanheim.

Less than 30 seconds later, Tippett drew a tripping penalty on Jack Hughes. On the ensuing faceoff, the Flyers took a 2-0 lead with their second power-play goal in as many days — and yes, Porter Martone again played a key role.

Zegras got the puck in the Flyers’ end and skated through the neutral zone with speed before dishing it to Martone on his right after the blue line. The rookie carried the puck into the right circle as Zegras maintained his speed to split the Devils’ defense and crash the net. Martone, who entered the night with three points in his first four NHL games, sent the pass in front, and Zegras tipped the puck into the net.

The first goal by Zegras set a new career high for the forward, who topped his 23 goals scored in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

Then, the second period was less than five minutes old when Tyson Foerster put two on the board.

The first came after a two-minute minor for too many men against the Flyers expired. Matvei Michkov came out of the penalty box and got back into the play. Dan Vladař punched out a point shot by New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton with his blocker, and Michkov tracked the puck down on the right boards, chipping it out of the zone.

Foerster and Tippett broke out two-on-one with just Hamilton back. The Devils defenseman played the pass, so Foerster kept the puck and beat Markström rather easily off the inside of his pad and through the five-hole.

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Foerster, who returned from an upper-body injury that required surgery last week, appeared to point to the crowd that is filled with orange and black after his goal.

Just over two minutes later, after Devils’ Jesper Bratt’s shot went wide and Rasmus Ristolainen gave the puck away, the Flyers got out of trouble when Luke Hughes’ centering pass went all the way to the boards.

Foerster scooped the puck up and raced out of the zone as Zegras got past Jack Hughes, and with Michkov joining them, the Flyers had a three-on-two. Foerster dropped the puck to the Russian winger, who then found Zegras loaded up for the shot after he had glided into the right circle.

Instead of shooting, Zegras sent a slap pass across the ice to Foerster near the left post. The puck slowed a bit as it went off the stick of Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, but Foerster still had an open net as Markström couldn’t get across.

Foerster now has three goals in his four games since returning — and technically, four goals in his past five games.

The Flyers were outshot 24-19 and New Jersey, which mutually parted ways with its general manager Tom Fitzgerald on Monday. The Devils got one back after Zegras’ pair when Siegenthaler’s shot went off Cody Glass atop the crease and up-and-over Vladař.

But entering the night, the Czech netminder had the third best goals-against average (2.43) and was tied for 12th in save percentage (.906) among goalies who played at least 35 games.

And he showed why he’s among the game’s best when he robbed Meier twice while the Flyers were shorthanded in the second period. Meier’s first shot was head on from the bumper and he kicked the pad out. The Swiss winger followed his shot and Vladař got it off his glove.

Vladař is now 27-13-7 across 48 games.

Nick Seeler added an empty-netter with under three minutes to go. … Michkov had two assists and now has 12 points in his past 12 games (one goal, 11 assists). … Tippett had one assist and now has 51 points (28 goals, 23 assists) on the season, putting him two shy of his career high set two seasons ago. … Jamie Drysdale had one assist and has 31 points (eight goals, 23 assists), which is one shy of his best in 2021-22. … Zegras had three points (two goals, one assist) for the first time since Nov. 14. It is his fourth three-point game of the season. He is the first Flyer with at least 40 assists in his first season with the team since Chris Pronger in 2009-10 … Defenseman Noah Juulsen and forwards Carl Grundström, Garnet Hathaway, and Garrett Wilson were healthy scratches. … Forward Denver Barkey returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last two games.

The Flyers’ last road trip continues in Detroit on Thursday against the Red Wings (7 p.m., NBCSP+).