By The Associated Press’s Allan Kreda
Newark, New Jersey. The Devils trounced the Philadelphia Flyers 5-0 on Wednesday, with Jake Allen recording 24 saves and New Jersey scoring four goals in the second period.
In a 13-minute period, New Jersey scored goals from Ondrej Palat, Luke Hughes, Nathan Bastian, and Dawson Mercer, giving the Devils their third victory in four games. Jack Hughes’ 20th goal of the season came early in the third.
Allen recorded his third shutout of the season and his 27th overall. Jacob Markstrom, the starter for New Jersey, is sidelined for four to six weeks following a knee injury sustained on January 22 against Boston.
On the power play 54 seconds into the middle period, Palat defeated Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson. At 6:27, Luke Hughes made it 2-0. At 12:41 and 13:43, respectively, Bastian and Mercer added another power play goal.
Jesper Bratt, Brett Pesce, and Timo Meier each contributed two assists.
After Mercer’s goal, Flyers coach John Tortorella pulled Ersson and substituted Ivan Fedotov.
It was 5-0 at 1:58 of the third thanks to Jack Hughes. He leads New Jersey with 60 points and also helped set up Palat’s goal.
On Wednesday, January 29, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey, Philadelphia Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson blocks a shot from New Jersey Devils left wing Tomas Tatar (90) with his stick during the second period of an NHL hockey game (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Last Saturday, Montreal’s Nick Suzuki cross-checked Devils captain Nico Hischier in the midriff, causing him to miss his second game.
12 saves were made by Ersson. Fedotov was relieved to stop nine.
Takeaways
Devils: Got better at home, going 15-8-4. Since December 12, New Jersey has an 8-2-1 record at Prudential Center.
Flyers: Dropped to 11-12-5 while traveling. Philadelphia’s record on the road is 2-5-2 over the past nine games.
Key moment
After an empty first period, Palat’s goal gave New Jersey the advantage.
Key stat
One year after scoring a career-high 83 points, Bratt currently has 58 points in 53 games.
Up next
On Thursday, the Flyers will host the New York Islanders. On Sunday, the Devils travel to the Buffalo Sabres.
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl is the AP NHL.
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