PHILADELPHIA _ Whatever becomes of this Devils' season and, thanks to their recent run of success on the road the playoffs are still a possibility, it likely will be remembered for introducing Miles Wood to their lineup.
Good or bad, and that's what rookies bring, Wood was seemingly in the middle of everything as the Devils beat the Flyers, 4-1, on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.
Wood, 21 and possessed of blinding speed, had a back-breaking breakaway goal in the waning seconds of the second period and a clinching power-play goal even as his sometimes careless physical play garnered him a career-high nine penalty minutes.
Still, it was a good rebound performance from the Devils (20-19-9) after they took a season-low 17 shots in a clunker of a 3-1 loss to the visiting Canadiens on Friday night, putting a damper on the good vibes generated by a 3-0-1 road trip.
"We have to compete a lot harder," Devils coach John Hynes said. "Particularly on the offensive side of it."
Keith Kinkaid, in the net for a second straight night with Cory Schneider again not feeling well enough to start, stopped 35 shots.
After getting just eight power-play chances over their last four games, the Devils were 2-for-7 on the man advantage against the Flyers (22-19-6). The Devils pulled within one point of the Flyers, who were coming off their bye week, as both are in a tightly packed group of seven teams jostling for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Though Saturday's game was chippy _ in a large part thanks to Wood _ it was nowhere near the fight-filled first game between the teams this season. The Devils beat the visiting Flyers, 4-0, on Dec. 22 as they combined for 82 penalty minutes.
On Saturday, the two combined for 36 penalty minutes as the Flyers went 0-for-6 on the power play.
The Devils, as they did Friday, took a 1-0 lead, this time on rookie Pavel Zacha's second goal in three games and his fourth of the season as he backhanded a shot past Michal Neuvirth after the goalie left the rebound of Kyle Quincey's slap shot from the left point just above the crease.
In all, the Devils had 14 first-period shots, including seven on two power plays, just three fewer than their Friday night total.
But Travis Konecny tied the game at 10:49 just as Wood was exiting the penalty box after he was called for interference for looking the wrong way and running over Claude Giroux in the neutral zone at 8:49. Wood later got into his third career fight when he collided with Flyers' tough guy Radko Gudas behind the Flyers' crease and fellow tough guy Wayne Simmonds came to his teammate's defense.
Gudas clearly filed the hit in his memory banks because he wiped out Wood with a low trip as the two skated into the right corner of the Flyers' zone at 15:34 of the second period.
That became a five-on-three advantage when Simmonds was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct minor.
The Devils responded with their first five-on-three power-play goal of the season in their seventh attempt as Kyle Palmieri connected on a slap shot from the right circle at 15:51.
And Wood used his speed to catch up to a loose puck and create a breakaway to give the Devils a 3-1 lead with 47.1 seconds left in the second period.
Steve Mason then replaced Neuvirth (22 saves) to start the third period.
Wood was also called for holding at 15:07 of the second period as he tried to beat Michael Del Zotto to a puck rolling down the ice as he inexplicably put his arms around the defenseman and spun him.
Wood made it 4-1 on the power play at 4:26 of the third period, easily tapping in Taylor Hall's feed to the right post.
