PHILADELPHIA – The old New York Yankees used to rally so many times in day games they called it “5 o’clock lightning.”
Saturday night, the New Jersey Devils thought they were safe indoors at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
But they weren’t. They got hit by some Flyers’ 7 o’clock lightning.
To clarify, the Flyers scored three goals in just 26 seconds in the first period, the fastest three goals in franchise history.
The old record was 35 seconds, set originally against the Boston Bruins in 1979 and duplicated against the old Quebec Nordqiues three years later.
Philadelphia used that speedy strike to produce a 6-3 win over their turnpike rivals.
Tyson Foerster scored the second and third goals of this burst 17 seconds apart. Matvei Michkov got things going with a breakaway goal at 12:06.
Then Foerster went to work, connecting off a feed from Noah Cates with a shot past goalie Jake Allen at 12:15. Just 17 seconds later, the two hooked up again and the Flyers had their 4-1 lead.
The first period began with a power-play goal from Jersey’s Tino Meier at 7:37. But the Flyers came right back on an unassisted goal from Cates at 9:00.
Cates finished the period with a goal and two assists.
Goaltender Dan Vladar played strong when the Devils woke up late in the game and raised his record to 8-4-1.
After the game, the Flyers didn’t act too surprised by their outburst. They probably had this game circled on their calendars.
“We gave up that first one but we bounced back really quickly,” Foerster said. “I think those were the three fastest goals in Flyers’ history so that’s pretty cool.”
Several of the Flyers’ goals for the game came off the rush. Foerster was asked if there was more of an emphasis on fast breakouts in strategy meetings.
“Yeah, I think we got a lead so they’ve got to start pinching,” Foerster said. “We got some breakaways because of that, I think.”
Sean Couturier picked up two assists and was a big part of the breakout scheme.
“I think we forechecked better,” Couturier said. “We created turnovers, allowed us to get better shooting lanes. Instead of trying to always enter with possession, we worked pretty well on the forecheck and created chances off that.”
There wasn’t much for coach Rick Tocchet to complain about.
“We had a bit of a game plan,” Tocchet said. “The forecheck was good and obviously some nice goals.”
When a team gets off to such a fast start, sometimes it’s hard to keep the momentum, especially against a high-echelon team like New Jersey. But the Flyers keep the pressure on for much of the first two periods.
“They started to come at us,” Tocchet confirmed. “I like the win but I think we gave them stuff that we shouldn’t have. A good learning lesson.”
The teams traded goals in the second period. Bobby Brink finished off a nice break-in at 11:42 for his sixth goal of the season. The Devils got one back at 16:16 with a wide-angle shot from Nico Hischier and dominated the rest of the period from there but the Flyers managed to prevent further damage before the intermission.
In the third, the Devils picked up another goal from Hischier to cut the lead to 5-3 but Trevor Zegras began a breakaway thanks to a pinpoint Owen Tippett outlet pass and scored with 4:39 to play to restore the three-goal margin.
>Zamula excels in return
Veteran defenseman Noah Juulsen got his first night off as a healthy scratch after playing in 19 straight games off opening night and Egor Zamula filled in.
All he did was ring up a season-best plus-5 for the night.
“Long time didn’t play but first shift kind of nervous,” Zamula said. “From the second shift, started playing better. It’s been a long time since I played right side (he played alongside left-sider Nick Seeler) but I think we played well.”
How did he keep his emotions in check?
“Just tried to play a simple game,” he said. “Make plays.”
>Quarter-season mark rates high
Tocchet, along with Couturier and Cates, gave the Flyers good marks for their 11-6-3 mark at the quarter-season pole.
“Honestly pretty good,” Cates said. “Special teams have been good. Continuing to build on our PP and PK. Goaltending has been awesome. A lot of chemistry with our lines. There’s so much good stuff we’re doing in our D-zone.”
Couturier: “I think we’re in a good position. No one really saw us. I think there’s always room for improvement. We’re in a lot of tight games. But we’re finding ways to win.”
Tocchet: “Really proud of the guys this year. We’ve changed some stuff around here and for them to buy in, it’s hard. We’ve thrown a lot of stuff at these guys. I’m proud of that.”
>Short shots
The Flyers start a four-game road trip on Monday in Tampa. They will continue on the trip to play Florida, the Islanders and the New Jersey Devils. . .Philadelphia improved its home record to 8-3-2. . .Columbus, Washington,the Islanders and Pittsburgh all lost so the Flyers gained ground in the Atlantic Division standings. The Flyers now trail only Carolina, New Jersey and the Islanders in the Metropolitan Division.
Be the first to comment