Smothering defense, opportunistic power play, perfect penalty kill: 3 reasons why the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1

The Philadelphia Flyers extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1) in a massive 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center. The Flyers improved to 21-20-6 (48 points), while the Devils fell to 26-16-6 (58 points).

Philadelphia is one of the many teams fighting tooth and nail for one of the wildcard positions in the Eastern Conference. Their recent success has them just one point back of a spot, though things could change based on the results of other games on Saturday night.

John Tortorella has again coached his squad to be extremely difficult to play against. What they may lack in high-end talent, they make up for in effort and attention to detail. It's shown again during the 2024-25 season. Without much expectation, Philadelphia is squarely in the mix to make the postseason.

New Jersey opened the scoring just 2:17 into action on a point shot from Dougie Hamilton. Despite solid play throughout the rest of the first period, the score remained 1-0.

Flyers rookie sensation Matvei Michkov tied things up just 1:56 into the second. Sean Couturier sprung the 20-year-old on a breakaway off a turnover from Devils defenseman Luke Hughes. The teams were tied 1-1 heading into the third period of play.

New Jersey began to find its legs and made a hard push in the final frame. The Flyers bent but didn't break and eventually got their opportunity on a power play. They took advantage quickly when Noah Cates slid a pass to Bobby Brink out front to take a 2-1 lead.

Samuel Ersson shut it down, and Travis Konecny provided the insurance marker into the empty cage. The Philadelphia Flyers pulled out an impressive 3-1 road victory in New Jersey.

Matvei Michkov celebrates a goal against New Jersey: X @NHLFlyers

3 reasons why the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New Jersey Devils

#1. Smothering defense

Philly played a perfect road game on Saturday afternoon. They smothered the Devils all game long, allowing very few offensive chances. New Jersey could only muster up 13 shots on goal as the defensive structure and effort of the Orange and Black stymied them.

A strong defensive style of play is the recipe for success in Philadelphia.

#2. Opportunistic power play

While they only had two opportunities on the man advantage, the Flyers capitalized in the biggest moment. With under 10 minutes remaining in the third period, John Tortorella's second power-play unit capitalized when Noah Cates connected with Bobby Brink for what turned out to be the game-winning goal.

Coming in as the 28th-ranked power play in the NHL at just 16%, they came through in the clutch in New Jersey.

#3. Perfect penalty kill

Just as important as the PP was the penalty kill, which went a perfect 2-2. Facing a Devils power-play that ranked 3rd in the NHL at 28.8%, the Flyers knew they were in tough. They were able to shut down New Jersey's star-studded first unit with the likes of Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier while frustrating them in the process.

Special teams were the difference for the Philadelphia Flyers in a tight-checking game that had the feel of a playoff game.