By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer
The Philadelphia Flyers have been one of the NHL’s biggest surprises this season, and the biggest might been their current run.
Owen Tippett stole the puck in the Devils zone and scored with 1:35 left in overtime and the Flyers extended their point streak to nine games with a 3-2 victory over New Jersey on Tuesday night.
“It’s fun,” said Flyers goaltender Sam Ersson, who made 24 saves in extending his personal run to 7-0-1 in his last eight starts. “The confidence is growing in our locker room. We’re having a lot of fun but as I say I think it’s important for us as a group to know how important it is to just stay in the moment.”
Ryan Poehling had both regulation goals for the Flyers, who are 8-0-1 their point run which has them in second place in the Metropolitan Division. This was a team that missed the playoffs last season.
“We’re not the most skilled and we’re not the prettiest team, but we compete hard and we believe in one another,” Poehling said. “And I think that’s the biggest thing in the NHL, it’s about consistency in this league. And I think night in and night out, that’s what we do.”
Michael McLeod and Jesper Bratt tallied for the Devils, who are 6-7-2 at home. Vitek Vanecek had 23 saves, including two good ones in overtime.
“I think if you look around the good teams in this league, one of their strong points is playing at home,” said Nathan Bastian, who set up the McLeod goal. “And for whatever reason, we’ve struggled in the past and it’s now it’s really tough to put your finger on why or how, but that’s something we are (working) on.”
Tippett got his 11th goal when a Jack Hughes pass to his brother, Luke, failed to connect. Tippett took the loose puck and snapped a shot into the net.
Devils coach Lindy Ruff said Jack Hughes, whose bad pass also set up Poehling’s first goal, knows he made mistakes putting the pucks in the middle of the ice.
“He’s the type that can make special plays,” Ruff said. “I mean, I referenced that play because it was an errant pass. It wasn’t a one-on-one play. It was a blind pass that went into the middle. … He’s a young player that still has to learn, too.”
The Devils took one-goal leads in the first two periods only to see Poehling, who had two goals in 25 games, tie the game for the Flyers.
McLeod gained the lead at 14:16 of the first period, but Poehling scored his first early in the second period scoring off a give-and-go with Joel Farabee after the Jack Hughes turnover.
Bratt snapped the Flyers streak of killing off 24 straight penalties a little more than a minute later, putting in the rebound of a Nico Hischier shot for his 13th goal.
Travis Konecny set up Poehling’s second goal with a cross-ice pass on a 2-on-1 break at 8:19 of the second period.
UP NEXT
Flyers: Host the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Devils: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
