Another head-turning win for upstart Flyers, who knock off Devils in OT originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers’ sample size of looking like a legitimate team kept on growing Tuesday night.
John Tortorella’s club picked up another galvanizing type of win with a 3-2 OT decision over the Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Owen Tippett intercepted a Jack Hughes pass in overtime and buried a shot for the winner.
Ryan Poehling scored the Flyers’ first two goals. Samuel Ersson was excellent again in net.
The Flyers (18-10-3) extended their point streak to nine games (7-0-2). They’re also 8-1-2 in their last 11 games and 6-3 after regulation this season.
Last season, they were 5-13 after regulation.
The Flyers and Devils (16-12-2) have split their first two meetings, with both games going to OT. It sure looks like this could be a fun regular-season series. The next matchup will be outdoors at MetLife Stadium in February before New Jersey comes back to Philadelphia for the Flyers’ second-to-last game of the regular season.
• There’s no denying what the Flyers have done. Just two games away from the holiday break and they’re in second place of a jam-packed Metropolitan Division.
They’ve put together a pretty bona-fide stretch.
Since losing to the previously-winless Sharks, the Flyers have gone 13-3-2 and have surrendered only 2.22 goals per game. Their 28 points are the most in the NHL over that span (Nov. 10 to now), while seven of those wins have been decided by one goal.
They’re winning in various ways and they already have four victories over top-10 clubs on their résumé.
We’ll see where it all goes in this rebuilding season, but the Flyers could be giving general manager Danny Briere a lot to think about for the NHL trade deadline on March 8.
• Ersson is on one heck of a run.
He has made four straight starts and has won three of them. The only loss came in overtime a week ago on the road to the Predators.
The 24-year-old is 8-1-1 with a pair of shutouts over his last 10 starts.
Against the Devils, Errson converted 24 saves on 26 shots. He notched three of the saves in overtime.
One of the goals he allowed came on a New Jersey power play in the second period when Jesper Bratt gave the Devils a 2-1 lead.
After backing up last Saturday and practicing Monday, Carter Hart was unavailable against New Jersey. The 25-year-old has been battling an undisclosed illness, which very much sounds like a day-to-day situation.
“Just kind of something that has been going on for a little while,” Hart said last Saturday. “Just kind of comes on and off periodically. Finally got to the bottom of it and taking care of it, addressing and fixing the issue.”
Hart hasn’t played in the last 10 days. Cal Petersen was called up from AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley to back up Ersson.
Devils netminder Vitek Vanecek stopped 23 of the Flyers’ 26 shots.
He made a huge save on Tippett with 5:05 minutes left in regulation after Bobby Brink made a great defensive play and pass. But Tippett got Vanecek in OT.
• The Flyers have still won games despite their problematic power play.
The man advantage went 0 for 3 against New Jersey, hasn’t scored in the last seven games and is 10 for 98 on the season.
Ersson bailed out the power play with 11:25 minutes left in the game. Curtis Lazar picked off a Cam York pass but his shorthanded breakaway attempt was denied by Ersson to keep the game tied at 2-2.
• Poehling recorded his first two-goal game since Nov. 25, 2022. That was at the Wells Fargo Center against the Flyers when he was with the Penguins.
Both of his markers Tuesday night erased one-goal deficits.
The 24-year-old center has rewarded Tortorella when given more opportunity. Poehling and Farabee have developed nice chemistry.
• Cam Atkinson has gone 16 straight games without a goal, an uncharacteristic drought for the veteran winger.
The 34-year-old played only 13:48 minutes Tuesday night and took shifts on the fourth line in the third period.
Something to keep an eye on over the final two games before the break.
“We need more from Cam,” Tortorella said last Thursday. “We need him to score, he needs to score in regulation. I believe it will come.
“If we’re going to keep finding our way, he needs to be a part of the scoring, also.”
• Travis Sanheim had an assist and a plus-2 rating after missing last Saturday’s game because of an illness.
• The Flyers are back at it Thursday when they host the Predators (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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