"I asked the guys and to their credit they went out and played really hard in the third period, trying to set it back straight," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "The ship went off course there for a couple of periods and I do think it's important to get it back, it's hard to get it back."
But . . .
"You can't walk out of here and say you feel good," Laviolette said.
Just 3 minutes, 5 seconds into the game, New Jersey took a 1-0 lead, scoring on a two-man advantage. Patrik Elias found Kurtis Foster, whose one-timer from close range beat Sergei Bobrovsky.
The game turned when the Flyers surrendered four goals in less than three minutes from late in the first period to the early part of the second.
New Jersey scored twice in the final minute of the first period. The first came after a controversial no-call.
Center Claude Giroux appeared to be tripped and/or slashed by former Flyer Dainius Zubrus, but there was no call. Zubrus retrieved the puck and passed to Ilya Kovalchuk, who scored on a shorthanded wrist shot with 57 seconds left.
That was the Devils' 12th shorthanded goal, increasing their NHL lead.
"I didn't see a replay yet, but I'm pretty sure it was a penalty," Giroux said.
Zubrus then beat Bobrovsky and the clock, scoring on a backhander, officially with one second left in the period. The goal was reviewed to make sure it came before time expired.
The Devils carried that momentum by scoring twice in the first two minutes of the second period. Zach Parise earned a power-play goal 38 seconds into the period, tapping in a rebound after initially being stopped by Bobrovsky.
The Devils made it 5-0 on Alexei Ponikarovsky's goal from close range just 1:37 into the period.
