Cody Glass scored in his team debut and Erik Haula snapped a 28-game goal drought as the visiting New Jersey Devils handed the reeling Philadelphia Flyers a fourth straight loss with Sunday’s 3-1 victory.
Glass, one of several players acquired by New Jersey in the days and hours leading up to Friday’s trade deadline, opened the scoring with just under nine minutes left in the first period. Backup goalie Jake Allen was solid in making 23 saves for the Devils, who are third in the Metropolitan Division and snapped a three-game losing streak with this needed victory.
Jamie Drysdale scored late in his 200th career game for Philadelphia, which has totaled only six goals in losing each of the first four contests on its seven-game homestand. Ivan Fedotov made 20 saves for the Flyers, who are outside of playoff position in the Eastern Conference and were often booed by the home crowd Sunday.
Glass, who had just four goals in 51 games with Pittsburgh this season, wasted no time contributing to his new club. Teammate Stefan Noesen sent the puck toward the net, but it glanced off Philadelphia’s Nick Seeler and over for a waiting Glass to bury with 8:50 remaining in the opening period.
Allen, meanwhile, was stout throughout. Notably, to open the second period, he stopped prime chances from Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink just seconds apart within the first minute of the middle frame.
His Devils teammates provided more support with 14:21 left in the second. The puck found Haula to flip into what was essentially an empty net, with Fedotov out of position, for his first goal since Nov. 25.
Drysdale, though, made things interesting when he took a stretch pass from Travis Konecny and beat Allen off a semi-breakaway to make it 2-1 with 4:46 left in regulation.
However, Philadelphia’s Travis Sanheim was whistled for a costly cross-checking penalty within the final two minutes, and Dawson Mercer added an empty-netter to thwart a comeback for the hosts.
–Field Level Media
