The Flyers played most of Thursday night’s game with 10 forwards and lost to the Devils 4-3 in overtime at the Wells Fargo Center.
With their net emptied of the extra attacker at 6-on-4, the Flyers tied the game on a power play redirection by Tyson Foerster. The equalizer came with 50.9 seconds left in regulation time and forced the bonus session.
But Jack Hughes found his brother Luke Hughes early in OT to thwart the Flyers’ comeback.
Morgan Frost and Sean Walker scored the club’s first two goals. Frost tied the Flyers 2-1 on the power play in the second period. Walker got them to 3-2 in the third period, about four minutes before Foerster’s game-winning goal.
Officials removed Garnet Hathaway from the game and John Tortorella removed Joel Farabee.
The Flyers (11-10-2) are 1-3-1 in their last five games.
The Devils (11-9-1) were without top defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who suffered an upper-body injury on Tuesday.
New Jersey thrived last season, finishing with the third-most points in the NHL (112). Danny Briere praised the Devils’ rebuild over the summer.
“I give them credit, they were patient, they didn’t let the noise affect them,” the Flyers general manager said in May. “That’s going to be the biggest thing – probably the hardest thing – for us to be patient and follow the process that we believe in.”
The Flyers will face New Jersey three more times this season.
• Tortorella was angry with the referees in the first period when Hathaway received a five-minute major penalty and a game-misconduct penalty for sending Luke Hughes aboard.
The 20-year-old Devils defenseman appeared to have the puck and turned to Hathaway as the Flyers winger completed his check. In many ways it looked like a clean hit on an aggressive forecheck. Icing was not whistled before review or included in the NHL’s official play-by-play.
Scott Laughton thought it was a clean hit.
“The linesman is in a difficult situation, but I think he has to go [the whistle] “Sooner or don’t screw it up at all,” Laughton said. “They obviously looked at it. A five-minute boarding call, but he doesn’t really get to the point. It’s hard to see. I think you have to protect yourself and know who you’re competing against at the same time. He comes back a few shifts later or whenever he comes back. That’s what they chose and you have to live with it. But obviously we in the room probably don’t agree with that.”
After the officials reviewed the hit on video, an angry Tortorella gave them a sympathetic ear from the bench.
“I have no idea what they told me,” Tortorella said. “It’s a clean hit.”
With 3:45 minutes left in the opening stanza, Hughes had to leave the game. However, he returned to the ice at the start of the second period.
The Flyers were down 2-0 at the time of the call. They were able to save the penalty, which went all the way to midfield.
“When we implemented the five-minute penalty, which should never have been a five-minute penalty, which should never have been a penalty, we talked about this being the hurdle we have to overcome,” Tortorella said. “You could feel that we could at least have a chance to get back into the game.”
Flyers coach John Tortorella was furious after missing a major penalty on Garnet Hathaway.
• Farabee only played 56 seconds. He was benched after his second shift when New Jersey scored the opening goal. Alexander Holtz charged through the middle of the ice and beat Carter Hart at the top.
Tortorella was clearly unhappy with Farabee in the play. The 23-year-old winger tried unsuccessfully to keep the puck in the offensive zone. But the Flyers also had poor coverage. It wasn’t an unusual rush for the Devils.
After the game, Tortorella said that Farabee “didn’t listen” because he was benched.
Tortorella declined to elaborate.
“It’s none of your business,” he said. “You know I won’t go there. You want me to keep answering questions here, don’t bring me to this place.”
Farabee was one of the Flyers’ best forwards, with and without the puck. Benching him after his second shift is a fairly short affair for Tortorella. And the loss of Hathaway late in the game made things even more difficult for the Flyers’ forwards and their hopes of returning.
Farabee could not be reached for comment after the game.
• Hart made 31 saves on 35 shots.
Jack Hughes gave New Jersey a 2-0 lead on a 2-on-1 rush.
With a power play goal, Tyler Toffoli cut the Devils’ lead back to two in the third period.
Hart made a brilliant save in the second period to keep the game at 2-1 when New Jersey was on the power play.
Devils goaltender Akira Schmid stopped 44 of the Flyers’ 47 shots.
• The Flyers returned Cam York to the power play after using Walker for 10 games. York rewarded the coaching staff.
The 22-year-old defender set up Frost’s man advantage with a second assist.
The team’s power play finished 7 for 71. Against New Jersey, it finished 2 for 6.
“We’ll get a few at some point, and I think the dam will break for us,” York said Wednesday after practice. “And hopefully we can get a lot.”
• After two healthy scratches, Egor Zamula was back in the starting lineup for Marc Staal.
The Flyers want the 23-year-old defenseman to be more decisive with the puck and use his length.
“He’s a relaxed guy, a really good guy. Very coachable,” Tortorella said during his morning skate. “But sometimes you have to change your personality when playing a game, the determination that comes with it. Exclude people. He has such a big body and such a good bat, the next thing is killing games. Not just being there, [but] killing games. It’s all part of a mindset.
“We will continue to work with him. It’s inconsistent, it’s up and down, it’s a roller coaster ride with him. But when he does, you can see what he could be. I just want him to be able to do that.” See what he could be if he did it more consistently.
• The Flyers are scheduled to practice at noon ET on Friday in Voorhees, New Jersey, before traveling to Pittsburgh for Saturday’s matchup against the Penguins (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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