A couple of trends continued with the conclusion of today’s mid-day matinée between the Philadelphia Flyers (27-30-8) and the New Jersey Devils (34-25-6). Firstly, the Flyers’ losing streak stretches to four games, two since the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. Then, there’s the putrid record in the second half of a back-to-back series in 2024-2025: 1-9-1.
That record includes today’s loss to the Devils, 3-1. The only team Philadelphia defeated in the second half of a back-to-back all season was the St. Louis Blues. Alexei Kolosov was the winning goaltender in that one-of-a-kind feat this season. He’s back in the AHL on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
This weekend was going to be tough after the NHL Trade Deadline. I mentioned this in the review of the recent loss to the Seattle Kraken: the remainder of this season is about the rebuild and the 2025 NHL Entry Draft instead of the illusion of an NHL Wildcard berth.
Today, the Flyers lost another sloppy contest.
First Period
Shots: 8-5, Flyers
Score: 1-0, Devils
Owen Tippett scored the lone goal for Philadelphia yesterday versus the Kraken. Today, he took the first shot on goal versus New Jersey. He and Matvei Michkov each rifled shots, saved by Jake Allen. In the opening minutes, these skaters buzzed.
Daniel Sprong arrived on the Devils at the NHL Trade Deadline. New Jersey sent a 2026 seventh-round pick to acquire him from Seattle. He cruised on the attack, but Jamie Drysdale blocked the shot. The attempt from Sprong came from below the hash marks.
Cody Glass pounced on an unlucky bounce. The puck deflected off Nick Seeler when Stefan Noesen attempted a centering pass, but Glass recovered and scored, 1-0, with 8:50 remaining in the first period. John Tortorella benched Michkov for the rest of the period with the Flyers trailing.
“There are a number of things that come into play; not one specific play. You’re at a disadvantage because I’m not going to give you information. It’s not always the play on the ice that I’m trying to teach, so use that as a context befre you start all your bullshit. There are so many things that go on, and with me trying to develop that player [Michkov], and I’m going to continue to do it the way I think it should be done, but don’t just look at the play. No, he didn’t do the job as far as backchecking. No, he didn’t do the job in the offensive zone, but there are a number of other things that come into play. Again, I need to show you the respect that I’m not going to give you that information; you don’t realize that. Don’t make a bigger deal out of it than you think you need to.” – John Tortorella; 3/9/2025
Tortorella often indicates that Michkov must develop a sense of checking in the NHL, along with his scoring and playmaking. On the play, Michkov trailed farthest back on the defensive transition, then began to cheat toward the blue line when the puck banked off the boards before Noesen attempted his centering pass. Sometimes, cheating toward the offensive transition works wonders. Michkov breaks free and has a chance to score. However, this was another time when Tortorella felt the effort from Michkov on the backcheck lacked hustle, and Glass cashed in.
Bobby Brink and Nico Hischier traded hits. When they finished their shift, the chirping between Brink and Hischier escalated to Noesen and Nicolas Deslauriers.
Deslauriers wanted to fight throughout the first period to bring the Wells Fargo Center to life.
Second Period
Shots: 16-13, Devils
Score: 2-0, Devils
Ryan Poehling successfully toe-dragged into the slot, but Allen denied a solid scoring chance. Michkov returned to the ice in the second period after his temporary benching.
Erik Haula located the puck after Tippett blocked a shot by Johnathan Kovacevic. For a moment, everyone froze. Haula had an open look before Ivan Fedotov could react, 2-0, with 14:21 remaining in the second period. Two odd bounces by pucks off teammates proved unlucky for Fedotov.
“Couts [Couturier] kicks it, trying to do the right thing. That’s a tough one.” – John Tortorella; 3/9/2025
Fedotov kept competing hard. He made a flurry of saves on Noesen and Timo Meier over long, continuous stretches without stoppages or penalties. Philadelphia struggled to clear the defensive zone, a similar problem in yesterday’s loss versus the Kraken. Today, the Flyers floundered to clear the puck at even-strength.
Third Period
Shots: 24-23, Flyers
Score: 3-1, Devils
From the onset of the third period, Drysdale was hungry to get the Flyers back into the game. He rang a shot off the post in the opening minutes. He and Seeler were valuable as a pair in this contest. Seeler led his defensive unit in blocked shots (3) and hits (6), completing another honest performance. He forced the lone takeaway of all Philadelphia defensemen, too.
“We were connected better. We defended better. They [the Devils] defend well as a team. [We] had some action around their net; we couldn’t get to rebounds. They did a pretty good job of that. We played better than the last games; trying to take a step forward.” – John Tortorella; 3/9/2025
Noesen served a minor penalty for tripping. Unfortunately, the Flyers couldn’t set up a threatening scoring chance with the man advantage. Philadelphia finished 0/1 (0%) on the powerplay.
Drysdale accepted a perfect entry pass from Travis Konecny, scoring on a breakaway, 2-1, with 4:46 remaining in the third period. For a moment, it seemed the Flyers would wedge themselves back into competing for at least one point toward the NHL standings. However, Drysdale scored the lone goal for Philadelphia in his 200th career NHL game.
Travis Sanheim served a minor penalty for cross-checking. Had he remained disciplined, Fedotov would’ve skated to the bench to give the Flyers a six-on-five advantage. However, on the penalty kill, Philadelphia would be five-on-five at best without Fedotov between the pipes. Dawson Mercer scored the empty-net, powerplay goal, 3-1, with 0:18 remaining in the third period.
“I just wish we had a chance to get the goalie [Fedotov] out. I don’t know exactly what happened before it, but I don’t think we need to do that then.” – John Tortorella; 3/9/2025
The Flyers finished 0/1 (0%) on the penalty kill.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday at 7:00pm/ET.
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