Flyers pushed to overtime by the Devils, lose 3-2 on Jack Hughes’ game-winner: ‘We are choppy with the puck’

NEWARK, N.J. — The Flyers seemed at a loss.

“I have no idea,” Rick Tocchet said when asked why they looked so out of sync in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime defeat in New Jersey. “We just talked as coaches. We’re going to have to maybe change some practices. We need more skill work. … We are choppy with the puck.”

To make the playoffs last year, the Flyers beat teams with their defensive structure, aggressive forecheck, and excellent goaltending.

They got at least one of those on Thursday. Make no mistake, goalie Joseph Woll was the primary reason the Flyers grabbed even a point against the Devils.

His 41-save performance masked a clear skill gap between the two teams. It was an improvement compared to Wednesday’s 7-0 clunker, enough to send the game to overtime tied 2-2, but the Devils, led by Jack Hughes, gashed through the Flyers’ neutral zone structure to easily make controlled entry after controlled entry.

» READ MORE: Flyers’ mistakes have helped fuel early struggles, but Joseph Woll’s performance a welcome sign

“We have to up our skill level,“ Tocchet said. “We‘ve got to make some plays. Deception, stepping inside, things like that offensively. Some guys are squeezing it too, and it’s only our second game. I don’t know why we’re squeezing it.”

But because of Woll, the Flyers were up 2-1 in the third period with a real chance to win the game. With a training camp of questions about the power play, the Flyers scored their first goal of the season at six-on-five on a delayed penalty. Rasmus Ristolainen opened the scoring for the season with a redirect in front in the first period. Their only power play later in the game did not register a shot, so there’s work to be done there still.

The Flyers took three offensive zone penalties in the first period, from Noel Acciari, Trevor Zegras, and Sean Couturier. That slowed the team’s offensive momentum, but it did showcase their penalty kill, which stood strong through the first period.

The defense, which Tocchet said was “the worst” he’s seen it during his tenure as head coach after Wednesday’s loss, had more structure on Thursday. It kept a lot of the shots on Woll from long-range, but Christian Dvorak said there’s still “room for improvement.”

But eventually, as the Devils gashed through the neutral zone and fired pucks on net, something was bound to get through. That was Dougie Hamilton, who fired a first shot that got blocked by Matvei Michkov, collected the rebound, and finally got one past Woll in the second period, 30 shots in.

“We battled harder defensively, but we spent way too much time in the D-zone, and a lot of that came from turnovers,” Travis Sanheim said.

» READ MORE: Porter Martone’s rough opener provided a worthwhile reminder that he’s still just 19

Early in the third period, Woll made his best save yet, sprawling to get a toe on a point-blank shot from Jesper Bratt. He kept the Flyers in it just enough for Sanheim to fire a scorcher past Jake Allen to restore a one-goal lead.

The Flyers couldn’t maintain the lead for long. Luke Hughes tied the game at 2-2 with a wrister and the Devils forced overtime, where a Sanheim turnover gave Hughes, Bratt, and Hamilton a rush chance. It was all they needed to win the game.

Tocchet and the Flyers’ coaching staff are clearly still working on ways to find the right combinations up front. For the second consecutive game, the lines were mixed significantly in an effort to slow down the Hughes line, Tocchet said.

Porter Martone played just 12 minutes, 27 seconds, and Alex Bump just 8:18. Both were benched for the majority of the third period. Zegras was double-shifted with Couturier and Acciari in the third, and swapped Owen Tippett for Martone on Dvorak and Travis Konecny’s line.

“We’re off to a slow start,” Dvorak said. “By the time you get the puck, you’re tired. You’re done on the shift, and instead of trying to make a play, get a puck deep and put the next line in a good spot. If we do that, it’ll help us moving forward. We’re trying to make too many plays in the neutral zone. The forecheck was a strength last year, we’ve got to get back to that.”

The Flyers return to Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m., NBCSP, ESPN+).