Hischier’s Late Goal Sends Flyers to 3rd Straight Loss

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

For a change, the Flyers found themselves with a lead entering the third period and a chance to claim two more big points against a divisional opponent. But this third period felt too much like the Flyers team that lost 10 straight games.

The Flyers allowed two goals in the third period, including the game-winning goal to Nico Hischier with 1:27 left to give the New Jersey Devils a 4-3 win on Thursday night.

The Flyers had Alex Lyon in goal making his first NHL start and he got introduced to the Flyers penalty kill woes in a hurry. The Devils struck for a power-play goal by Kyle Palmieri just 3:42 into the game to give them the early lead.

The Flyers got a one-minute two-man advantage just a few minutes later and tied the game quickly as Claude Giroux picked up a loose puck in front of a wide open net to tie the game with his 15th goal of the season.

With under seven minutes to play in the period, the Flyers were back on the penalty kill and allowed another goal. This time, it was Drew Stafford who went to the net and deflected a centering pass by Lyon to give the Devils the lead again.

The Flyers found the equalizer on the power play as well, with Wayne Simmonds picking up a rebound to tie things up at 15:46.

In all, there were four power-play goals and a lot of physical play and extra-curriculars in an action-packed first period.

The second period was much cleaner and featured only one goal, and it came just past the seven-minute mark. The Flyers finished off a rush with Shayne Gostisbehere scoring on a rebound for his 10th goal of the season.

The Flyers carried the 3-2 lead to the third period holding a 19-13 lead in shots.

The Devils took over in the third period, controlling the play and thwarting most of the Flyers chances to move the puck up ice. Well past the halfway point of the period, the Flyers had just one shot on goal in the period while the Devils started to tilt the ice in their favor.

Some hard work along the boards on a puck battle led to the tying goal, as Palmieri fished the puck free to Pavel Zacha behind the net. Zacha carried it around and centered to Damon Severson, who jumped up on the play and he beat Lyon with his shot to tie the game with nine minutes left in the third.

The Flyers started to get a few chances from there and the game was setting up for a great finish with the potential for overtime. The Devils kept the pressure on and finally cashed in late.

Off a rush, Blake Coleman centered to Nico Hischier who got his stick on it and slipped it through the five-hole of Lyon to give the Devils the lead with 1:27 left in the game.

The Flyers couldn't generate a tying goal in the final seconds, dropping their third straight game in regulation.

Lyon made 18 saves on 22 shots in his debut. Keith Kinkaid made 22 saves in the win.

Simmonds, Gostisbehere and Jake Voracek each had two-point games for the Flyers. Palmieri and Zacha each had two points for the Devils.

The Flyers are back in action looking to get back in the win column when they host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• NJ Kyle Palmieri (10) PP (Pavel Zacha, Taylor Hall) 3:42
• PHI Claude Giroux (15) PP (Jake Voracek, Wayne Simmonds) 6:47
• NJ Drew Stafford (8) PP (John Moore, Sami Vatanen) 13:49
• PHI Simmonds (17) PP (Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere) 15:46

2nd Period

• PHI Gostisbehere (10) (Valtteri Filppula, Taylor Leier) 7:01

3rd Period

• NJ Damon Severson (8) (Zacha, Palmieri) 11:00
• NJ Nico Hischier (9) (Blake Coleman, Ben Lovejoy) 18:33

Game Statistics