The Devils are in the midst of the team's first long stretch of games in a short period of time. On Tuesday, it felt like the Devils played multiple games with the first period and a half against the Flyers being filled with missed chances and costly mistakes. Then, the Devils climbed back in with a pair of goals to even the score.
It would revert back to the first half of the game with a third period to forget, allowing the Flyers to hand the Devils a 5-3 loss at Prudential Center, the first regulation loss at home for the Devils in the early season.
Scott Wedgewood had 26 saves on the night, many of them with a higher degree of difficulty against a Flyers team believed to be a favorite in the East division this season. After each team scored consecutive goals, a third period goal by Nolan Patrick found a way past a sprawled out Wedgewood to give the Flyers the lead.
Pavel Zacha chipped in a late goal for the Devils moments after the Flyers increased the lead with an empty net goal
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The Devils roared back into this game, aided by veteran Travis Zajac's second goal and 197th of his career that tied the game at two. Zajac diverted a shot from Andreas Johnsson to get the puck past Flyers goalie Brian Elliott.
Zajac's goal included assists for Janne Kuokkanen and Johnsson. For Johnsson, it was his first point as a member of the Devils following an offseason acquisition from Toronto. Kuokkanen's assist is his first point in the NHL as the 22-year old was unable to find the scoresheet in limited action over the previous three seasons.
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It took 39 games and a few close calls, but Michael McLeod finally has an NHL goal to his name. The 22-year old got his first goal for the Devils thanks to a breakaway by Miles Wood. Wood forced a delayed penalty by the Flyers and tossed the puck back, finding McLeod and cutting the Philadelphia lead in half.
McLeod has been a part of the Devils' fourth line that Lindy Ruff continues to rave about this season. McLeod has continued to make plays and shift momentum for New Jersey, but getting on the board with a goal becomes well-earned for a player that has unselfishly kept the Devils in games throughout the season.
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The Devils put themselves in a pretty deep hole, in large part to their inability to stay out of the penalty box. In the bottom five of the NHL in penalty killing entering Tuesday, the Devils allowed power play goals to the Flyers on the first two penalties they committed.
Down two goals in the second period, the Devils had two more penalties called against them, accounting for three total power plays for Philadelphia in the first 9:32 of the second period. Yet, the Devils were able to turn away the Flyers with consecutive penalty kills, opening the door for momentum to shift back toward New Jersey.
Allowing two power play goals in five chances actually lowered the penalty kill percentage for the Devils from 66.6% down to 60.8%, still among the lowest in the NHL.
