The New Jersey Devils traveled to Pennsylvania, where they played the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, March 9. This was their fourth and final matchup of the season. The Flyers took the first two, and the Devils have now won the last two. The Devils came away with a 3-1 victory.
Glass Stunned in Devils Debut
Cody Glass played in his first game with New Jersey since being traded there on Friday. He is already finding success with his new team, as he broke the ice to score the first goal of the afternoon for the Devils.
Related: Devils Strengthen Playoff Position With 3-1 Win Over Flyers
Eleven minutes into the first period, Glass had the puck in the defensive zone. He passed the puck to Luke Hughes, who took it down the ice into the offensive zone. He passed to Stefan Noesen, who made a shot attempt. The puck bounced off the goalpost and made it in front of Glass. He was able to pick up the puck and take a shot, scoring the first goal of the game.
This was Glass’ first goal with the Devils, but his fifth overall for the season. Before the trade deadline, he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and earned a total of 15 points via four goals and 11 assists. For the Devils, he’s the third-line center, with Erik Haula and Daniel Sprong as his wingers.
Haula Broke Scoring Drought
Glass was not the only one to put a puck into the back of the net. His linemate, Erik Haula, was the second player to do so this game.
Brenden Dillon had the puck by the blue line. He sent it to Johnathan Kovacevic, who was to his right. He took a shot on the net, but it bounced off the stick of one of the Flyers players in front of him. Haula was able to pick up the loose puck. Skating it up to the net, he took a shot and found the back of the net.
Haula also recorded the primary assist on Dawson Mercer’s empty-net goal, making this a two-point game. Haula won the face-off, and Ondrej Palat picked up the loose puck. He sent it back to Haula, who passed it to Mercer, letting the puck fly into the empty net for the third and final goal of the night.
So far this season, Haula has recorded 13 points via six goals and seven assists in 53 games. His last goal before this, and his last point period, was on Nov. 25 against the Nashville Predators. Hopefully, he can continue on the scoring path, since he couldn’t the past three months.
Allen Saved the Game
Jake Allen played his first game in almost two weeks. Since Jacob Markstrom has returned from injury, he has been playing the brunt of the games, while Allen has been in the backup goaltender slot. Allen proved he still hasn’t lost his edge. He made 23 saves from the 24 shots the Flyers took on the net. Until the last five minutes of the game, it appeared as if Allen was about to record his fifth shutout of the season. Jamie Drysdale had other plans and scored the first and only goal of the game for the home team. Allen earned a save percentage (SV%) of .958 in this game.
In his 24th game of the season, Allen recorded his tenth win. Markstrom has 21 wins in 39 games, but his last three games have resulted in losses. With the Devils hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, New Jersey made the right decision in playing Allen here. This way, they will have Markstrom ready to play against the better of the two teams.
Back Home
The Devils will travel back to New Jersey, where they will host the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, March 11.
