PHILADELPHIA – Maybe the lineups weren’t quite the caliber of talent you’re going to see when regular-season play starts about a week from now but Thursday night’s Flyers-Devils final preseason game had a meaningful feel to it.
Both teams dressed a lot of players who are trying to win jobs with their NHL teams and so the play was quite competitive.
When the game at the Wells Fargo Center came to an end, the Flyers had a hard-fought 5-4 victory.
Because most of New Jersey’s frontline players are over in the Czech Republic getting ready for the season opener against Buffalo, the Devils went with a lot of their AHL farm team Utica Comets.
In turn, the Flyers suited up only a few NHL regulars, including Noah Cates, Garnet Hathaway and Erik Johnson.
This game, however, was important to some of the young players who are trying to make a good impression.
Example: Emil Andrae.
“I think every game is an opportunity for evaluation,” said assistant coach Darryl Williams at the morning skate in Voorhees, N.J. “I think our players understand that.”
Veteran defenseman Johnson suited up with the bevy of young defensemen and said he’s happy to help this crew develop.
Andrae could figure into this year’s picture.
“I’m happy to do it,” Johnson reiterated. “Help the guys any way I can. Especially with the super young group tonight. It’s nerve-racking. It’s a game in an NHL building. You kind of have some butterflies. They’re nice kids. They want to talk on the bench. It’s great for me. It keeps me young.
“He (Andrae) is really undersized (5-foot-9, 189 pounds) but I don’t think that deters him from getting to areas that are hard to play in. For him, I think he played with a lot of confidence, put up a lot of points in the minors and he’s kind of knocking on the door for an NHL spot, which is great. He got a lot of minutes, a lot of power-play time. I tried to help him as much as I could. Nice guy and a bright future for sure.”
Andrae, who had a goal and two assists in Thursday night’s game, got a taste of the NHL with four games last year. Maybe he gets a bigger piece of the pie this time around.
“I feel like I played pretty solid today,” he said. “I think I moved the puck quick. And we scored some power-play goals, too. That was nice.
“I feel like I had a good camp. Been getting a lot of exhibition games. Try to come in every day and be my best. I really don’t think about it (final roster cuts on Monday). Just being in the moment. I just tried to do my best and I think I did a pretty good job.”
Having Johnson around as a mentor should be a big help.
“He’s someone who’s been through it,” Williams said. “He has a great personality, he’s great with the kids. He helps those guys a lot.”
The Flyers picked up goals from Avon and Andrae in the second period to take a 3-2 lead into the third.
Avon scored at 1:28 to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. That’s the way it stayed until Kevin Lebanc, who had a hat trick, scored on goaltender Alexei Kolosov at 18:36. Kolosov had replaced starting goalie Ivan Fedotov midway through the period.
But the tie lasted only 16 seconds. Andrae picked off a Jersey clearing attempt and rifled a shot past goaltender Issac Poulter.
A power-play goal by Anthony Richard at 3:58 of the third period made it 4-2. Lebanc later countered with his second goal, on a five-on-three power play at 11:19, but Noah Cates scored on a power play with 1:26 to play to make it 5-3 and render a late Devils goal by Lebanc meaningless.
The teams exchanged first-period goals and also a few punches in a rather robust session for a preseason game.
Olle Lycksell got the Flyers started by sending the rebound of a shot past goaltender Issac Poulter at the four-minute mark.
New Jersey, playing mostly second-tier players from their Utica/AHL team, countered on a goal by Ryan Schmelzer. He finished off a three-on-two rush with a shot past Fedotov.
Two fights dotted the period. First, New Jersey’s Samuel Laberge used a hard right hand to drop the Flyers’ Sawyer Boulton. Later, the Flyers’ Hunter McDonald and the Devils’ Nathan Lagare battled to a standoff.
>Short shots
The Flyers completed their preseason with a 4-3 mark. They open the regular season in Vancouver on Friday, Oct. 11. The team is scheduled to practice at Voorhees, N.J. on Friday, then have off on Saturday and Sunday. The NHL roster deadline is Monday. The Flyers will practice that day, plus Tuesday, then have off Wednesday and head to British Columbia.
