Flyers Sweep Devils for the First Time Since 1984, Beat New Jersey 5-1
Apr 7, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Tyson Foerster (71) and right wing Matvei Michkov (39) celebrate a goal against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Luther Schlaifer-Imagn Images
The Flyers have inched a step closer to punching their ticket to the postseason, this time accomplishing a feat that they had not achieved since the mid-80s. In another high-energy game, the Flyers and their fans both showed up huge the whole night at the Prudential Center, as they took down the New Jersey Devils 5-1 and grounded their playoff hopes for good.
Though only three players scored the five goals for the Flyers, the win was the definition of a team effort, as passing was on point, defense was lockdown, and goaltender Daniel Vladar was as solid as a brick wall, only giving up one goal tonight against Jack Hughes and the Devils’ talented offense. The Flyers are as far in the playoff race as they’ve ever been, now holding a two-game lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets, who jumped the New York Islanders with a victory Tuesday night.
Zegras Pots Two Early, Passes Career High
In this high-intensity game, it didn’t take the Flyers long at all to light the lamp, as a great play in transition set up the rush, leading to a cutting Travis Sanheim, who gets the puck swiftly to Trevor Zegras, marking a new career high with his 24th goal of the season.
Not only did Zegras score the first goal and second goal of the game, but he scored the second goal of the game on the power play, with the help of 19-year-old Porter Martone. Martone, who has given this power play a sense of life, helped create the chance when both he and Zegras crashed the net, leading to the deflection from Zegras for his second goal and 25th of the season, a career high. Zegras is having a career season, being in Philadelphia, and it’s only getting better with the help of Martone.
Not only is this good for Zegras, but it is essential for the power play, as they need that push to make the playoffs. The way Martone brings the play up closer to the net changes the game for the Flyers, as they used to continue to pass around the point, which resulted in bad passing and tight encounters with the penalty kill. This kid means a lot to this team, especially at this point in time.
READ MORE ON THE POWER PLAY:
Foerster Scores Two as well, Pots Fourth of the Year Against Jersey
The arrival of Martone is nice, but it’s even nicer now that Tyson Foerster is back, who was expected to miss the rest of the regular season with an arm injury, to help push this team over the finish line.
After scoring in his first game back against the Detroit Red Wings to tie the game and his excellent stick check against the New York Islanders, he continued his scoring fever on the Devils with two more tonight during the second period of play.
Another transition play gave the Flyers a rush, where Foerster would go back to what he was known for in blasting wrist shots in the perfect place as he potted the puck right past Markstrom to give the Flyers an insurance goal. Not long later, yet another rush would give Zegras a beautiful assist and Foerster his second goal in a short span against the Devils for the second time this year. Foerster is a huge difference maker, as the lead went from 2-1 to 4-1 in little time, due to Foerster.
Flyers Close Out 5-1 Victory and Sweep the Devils
With two penalty kills and an empty net goal from Nick Seeler from long distance, the Flyers beat the Devils for the third time this year, meaning they have swept Jersey for the first time since the 1983-1984 NHL season. On home ice back on November 22, 2025, the Flyers, with the help of two goals from Foerster, took down the New Jersey Devils 6-3 against what had been a good Devils team at the time. They would then take the turnpike up to Newark to beat New Jersey on the road, as they avoided the scare and took down the Devils 5-3 with a two-goal performance from Owen Tippett.
And to cap off the sweep, all of these efforts from Zegras, Vladar, Foerster, and everyone else helped secure the third and final victory of the season series for the Flyers and the Devils, along with eliminating the Devils from playoff contention. With gathering an important feat they haven’t gotten since the eighties, it’s a good sign of more things to come for this team, as they seem to want it the most.
This victory gets the Flyers up to 40 wins and 92 points with four games remaining in the regular season. With the energy and motivation they have been playing with of late, the Flyers can definitely continue on their push and secure a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2019-2020 season, meaning they could soon be playing the first playoff game in South Philadelphia since 2018.
Luke Raidy
Luke has covering the the Flyers and Phillies for Philly Sports Reports since 2025. He is a junior at North Penn and being a huge Philly sports fan has brought so many experiences, such as going to the NLDS, NLCS, and even the World Series in 2022. He has also met former superstars in the city of Philadelphia, such as Wayne Simmonds from the Flyers. Though being a student-athlete, Luke enjoys his time where he is writing and reporting on Philadelphia sports.
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