Luke Hughes Clinches Overtime Win as Devils Beat Flyers

Philadelphia’s Tyson Foerster netted two goals in a 3-3 draw with a determined effort from the Flyers (11-10-2), who have now dropped four of their last five games. Goaltender Carter Hart turned away 31 shots in the game.

Reflecting on the game, Flyers forward Scott Laughton remarked, “We battled to the end. Obviously you want the second [point], but we didn’t get there and I thought we gave ourselves a chance to win.”

Luke Hughes was shaken after a collision with Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway in the first period but managed to return to the game after clearing concussion protocol. “I had to go through concussion protocol, which is what it is, I felt completely fine,” he said. “But the League does that and that’s fine. That kind of took most of my intermission. I just rushed to get my gear back on and get out for the power play.”

Hathaway was penalized with a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for the hit on Hughes.

Devils head coach Ruff praised Hughes’ determination, stating, “We didn’t know if he was going to get back, he took one heck of a hit. So to get back, play the way he did, compete the way he did, I don’t think he was 100 percent, but he wanted to the finish the game.”

Alexander Holtz and Jack Hughes scored for the Devils, while Morgan Frost netted a power-play goal for the Flyers. Toffoli also chipped in with a power-play goal for the Devils, with Foerster scoring twice for the Flyers late in the game to secure the draw.

Flyers coach John Tortorella commented, “We just kept on playing. They scored the third one, they went into a little bit of a defensive 1-4 and we were throwing things into it, we got a little sloppy for a bit. But we kept on playing and found a way to get a point.”

NOTES: Jack Hughes also had an assist on Luke Hughes’ first NHL goal, in overtime against the Washington Capitals on April 13, 2023. … Hischier missed about eight minutes of action during the third period because of concussion protocol. He has five points (two goals, three assists) in three games after missing 11 because of an upper-body injury. … Jack Hughes’ two assists gave him 21 in 16 games. It’s the fewest games needed to reach 20 assists in a season in Devils history; the previous mark was 22 games by Scott Gomez (1999-2000), Bruce Driver (1989-90) and Kirk Muller (1987-88). … New Jersey forward Samuel Laberge played 4:00 in his NHL debut. He was recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. … Flyers forward Joel Farabee played two shifts totaling 56 seconds after being on the ice for the Devils’ first goal. Tortorella’s only explanation was, “Because he didn’t listen.”