For the first time all season, the Devils have lost back-to-back games.
After a strong 40 minutes, the Devils gave up a pair of goals in the third period and fell 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday at Prudential Center.
Michael Raffl and Claude Giroux capped the rally with a goal apiece as the Flyers swept the two-game series.
Damon Severson put the Devils on the board with a heads-up play from his own blueline. With the Flyers attempting a line change, Severson flew up the right side and beat goalie Carter Hart with a shot off the far post.
That put the Devils up 1-0 less than eight minutes into the game and gave Severson his first goal of the season. Ryan Murray picked up an assist on the play for his first point as a Devil.
The Flyers answered back with a rebound goal by Nate Prosser at 9:23 in the first period. After a faceoff win by Kevin Hayes, Erik Gustafsson ripped a shot that bounced off Devil goalie Scott Wedgewood and over to Prosser by the right post.
That was one of the only mistakes by the Devils throughout the night. The Devils held the Flyers to four shots in each of the first two periods and finished with a 34-17 edge in the game.
"These guys have worked hard at where they need to be in their own end," coach Lindy Ruff said before the game. "Our forwards have worked really hard at being the support for them. I think if we continue to play like that, this group of six (defenders) will have success."
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So much for easing Jesper Bratt back into the game.
The Devils forward was all over the ice in his season debut, paired on the top line with Jack Hughes and Andreas Johnsson. Bratt logged close to 21 minutes of ice time, ranking second among Devil forwards behind Jack Hughes.
"I feel really comfortable and confident in my skating and my conditioning on the ice," Bratt said. "I've been waiting (to play) for more than 10 months."
New Jersey Devils left wing Jesper Bratt (63) skates with the puck while being defended by Philadelphia Flyers left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) during the first period at Prudential Center.
The top line controlled the play from the first shift of the night when Hughes found Bratt for a scoring chance on the left side. In total, the Hughes line had 72 percent of the shot attempts at full strength, according to Natural Stat Trick, as well as 62 percent of the expected goals.
Johnsson also benefited from the promotion with his most effective game of the season.
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The Devils bench boss joined an exclusive club on Thursday when he became the seventh coach in league history to reach 1,500 games. Ruff is one of four active coaches to hit the mark along with Joel Quenneville (1708), Barry Trotz (1680), and Paul Maurice (1607).
"I don't place a lot of value in it," Ruff said. "It probably means I've been around a long time and learned a lot. I'm humbled by the opportunity to coach that many games."
Ruff spent 12 years in the league as a defenseman with the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. He ranks third in career wins among active coaches and sixth on the all-time list.
