Despite shutting down for a league-mandated bye week, Sean Couturier and the Flyers didn't skip a beat on Saturday.
Couturier expanded on his season-high goal scoring mark with two more goals, giving him three consecutive games now with at least two goals. Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov — each celebrating a birthday — both celebrated with two assists as well, helping the Flyers handily take a 5-3 win against the New Jersey Devils.
The game started out inauspiciously for the Flyers, as Jesper Bratt capitalized on some early pressure and a Travis Sanheim miscue with a stick to give the Devils a 1-0 lead less than six minutes into the game. Couturier answered before the period could end, though, cleaning up a Jordan Weal rebound to even the score.
As Nolan Patrick sat early in the 2nd period for hi-sticking, Kyle Palmieri reclaimed the lead for the Devils on the man-advantage. Wayne Simmonds tipped home a laser from Giroux on the power play, though, and Couturier earned the multi-goal game to put the Flyers ahead for good. As the Flyers regained their legs from the bye in the 2nd, any potential for a neck-and-neck contest was quickly erased.
Travis Konecny connected on a breakaway at 4:28 of the 3rd to make it a two-goal game, and Michael Raffl shoveled home a rebound in front of the net for a 5-2 lead to further pad the lead. Though Drew Stafford cashed in on another power play with 45 seconds left, the game was out of question at that point, and the Orange and Black were able to claim their fourth consecutive win.
Brian Elliott stopped 26 of 29 shots for the Flyers, while Cory Schneider finished with a paltry 20 saves on 25 shots.
For the Flyers, their biggest drawback was discipline, as they were whistled for seven penalties. While their penalty kill was able to produce for the most part, it still yielded two goals. Blip on the radar in what was otherwise a well-rounded effort.
The game also marked the first formal meeting between the top two picks of the 2017 Draft. Nico Hischier finished with an assist, a giveaway and a shot on goal in 15:52 of ice time, while Nolan Patrick was minus-1 with two penalties and three shots in 8:59 of ice time. Not really a clear winner in their first matchup against each other, but meetings down the line will be nothing short of fun to watch.
With the win, Dave Hakstol has earned the 100th of his NHL career as well.
The Flyers next take the ice Tuesday, crossing the Hudson River for their first matchup against the Rangers.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Flyers | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Devils | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- NJD Jesper Bratt (11) (Nico Hischier, Taylor Hall) 5:43
- PHI Sean Couturier (24) Jordan Weal, Andrew MacDonald) 14:35
2nd Period
- NJD Kyle Palmieri (7) (Will Butcher, Taylor Hall) 1:46
- PHI Wayne Simmonds (15) (Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek) 11:53
- PHI Couturier (25, second of game) (Giroux, Ivan Provorov) 18:16
3rd Period
- PHI Travis Konecny (6) (Provorov, Couturier) 4:28
- PHI Michael Raffl (8) (Voracek, Valtteri Filppula) 12:04
Game Statistics
| Flyers | Devils | |
| Shots | 25 | 29 |
| Power Plays | 2/2 | 2/7 |
| Hits | 29 | 24 |
| Faceoff % | 51% | 49% |
| Giveaways | 6 | 7 |
| Takeaways | 3 | 4 |
| Blocked Shots | 7 | 7 |
| Penalty Minutes | 14 | 4 |
