Flyers Hand Devils First Home Loss In Regulation And Keep Proving The Vibes Are Real
Nov 29, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) makes a save against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
The Flyers came into tonight for the second game of a back-to-back, on the heels of a shootout win against the Islanders last night. Tonight, they made it to Newark to take on the New Jersey Devils for the second of only three meetings this year. Beating the Devils at home this season has been a tough task; they have the best home record in the NHL this year, and in fact haven’t lost at the Prudential Center in regulation so far, and the Flyers look to break that tonight.
The Flyers have been an incredibly slow-starting team this season so far, but tonight they jumped out in a hurry, first with the shots, and then Owen Tippett scored a milestone goal, his 100th in his NHL career.
The Devils tied it up when Sean Couturier lost his stick, and as the Devils do incredibly well, they play off the rush, and their defensemen crash the zone hard. Simon Nemec came streaking in and took advantage of the Couturier stick mishap and buried a slap shot from between the circles for a tying goal.
When the second period started, the Flyers came out blazing hot. Matvei Michkov was finishing his minor penalty, and the timing of the rush pushed up by Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny couldn’t have been better for Michkov, as the door opened while the rush was starting, putting him in the right place at the right time. He pushed a rebound past Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom to break the tie.
The Flyers kept their foot on the gas pedal, with Konecny scoring his 6th of the year, and Trevor Zegras netted his 9th. We knew the Devils were going to push hard, and they pulled to within one after a Zegras gaffe, of playing the puck back into the Flyers zone instead of clearing it up the ice. Zegras doesn’t make many mistakes like that, and in this case, it cost the Flyers half the lead. The third period was a very busy period, with the puck moving back and forth. It was very fast-paced, and the only goal in the period was an awarded goal to Tippett, making the game 5-3, which is where the game ended.
The thing that kept the Flyers in this game is what has buoyed this team all season thus far: it was the play of Daniel Vladar. I feel like a broken record here, but Vladar has truly been nothing short of fabulous this season. Even though the Devils scored 3 goals tonight, Vladar was incredible between the pipes and did a spectacular job cutting off angles for the Devils and truly snuffed out a rally when the Flyers had a 2-1 advantage early in the second. Instead of the Devils tying the game, Vladar made an incredible east-to-west to east save, and made it look easy.
What has truly separated this squad from the Flyers of last year is the goalkeeping. Last season, the goalies had a 3.22 goals against, and this year the goalies have a much-improved 2.66 goals against. Samuel Ersson‘s goals against are fairly similar to last season — this season, he has a 3.09 goals against in a smaller sample size this season, and last season he had a 3.14 goals against. Vladar has a goals against average of 2.39 and an impressive save percentage of .913, both of which put him in the upper echelon statistically for this season. Tonight was his 10th win, and “The Great 8-0” certainly lived up to that moniker tonight.
Between the penalty kill, goalie play, and the offensive aggressiveness, the Flyers had a complete team win tonight, handing the Devils their first home loss in regulation this season. It was also Rick Tocchet‘s 300th career coaching win in the NHL. All in all, this was a very gritty win for this young Flyers squad, which is blossoming right before our eyes. Closing out a successful 3-1-0 road trip, and to win on a back-to-back is something admirable. Something is cooking with this Flyers team. Let’s hope the vibes stay strong with the Penguins coming to South Philly on Monday.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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