In Newark Philadelphia’s Owen Tippett scored 3:26 into extra time on Tuesday night to give the Flyers a 32 win over the New Jersey Devils.
“He anticipates a drop pass, and it’s just a great shot,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “[Tippett] leads our team in chances throughout the year and had a couple of those early in the game. It’s good that he gets rewarded.”
Samuel Ersson made 24 saves in the win.
“I’ve been feeling more confident, and I’ve been getting into a little bit of a flow here,” Ersson said. “It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s very important to stay in the moment, be present. I know how I started the year (1-3-1 in first five games), so I know how it feels when things are not going great.”
Philadelphia moved to 18-10-3.
“Knowing the Stadium Series game is around the corner, you want to kind of build up to that, but it’s always going to be a close game and both times we played them (the Devils won 4-3 in overtime at the Flyers on Nov. 30), it’s been tight,” Tippett said. “It’s a fun game to play in.”
New Jersey took a 1-0 lead in the opening stanza on a marker from Michael McLeod at 14:16.
New Jersey dropped to 16-12-2.
Jack Hughes was responsible for four egregious giveaways in the game.
“I think Jack knows … we talk about puck management,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “You look at the number of great plays (he makes). If he doesn’t try to make the play in overtime, early on, he will never get in alone either. There’s an amount of growth that Jack needs to operate in.
“I referenced that (overtime) play because it was an errant pass. It was a blind pass that went into the middle, and he knows it, so he understands, and he’s a young player that still has to learn too.”
The Flyers tied it up, 1-1, on a strike by Ryan Poehling, who had a double in the second, with 70 seconds gone in the middle frame.
“We’re not the most skilled and we’re not the prettiest team, but we compete hard, and we believe in one another,” Poehling said. “I think that’s the biggest thing.”
New Jersey answered back with a power play goal from Jesper Bratt at 2:44 of the second.
Poehling hit for double at 8:19 off an odd man rush.
“Poehling has put himself in a position where he’s just demanding more ice time,” Tortorella said. “He and [Farabee] have had some chemistry. The thing that really helps me with him is his skating.”
Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves in the loss.
“I was trying to help the team win the game,” Vanecek said. “We started really good. I mean, it’s a tough way to end, but it is what it is. You got one point and then we have to move on.”
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