Devils 3, Flyers 0: Martin Brodeur turned aside all 23 shots he faced for his 121st career shutout and fourth-liner Ryan Carter scored early in the second period as visiting New Jersey snapped a 10-game winless streak (0-6-4) to keep alive its flickering postseason hopes.
Matt D'Agostini tallied for the second time in four games and Adam Henrique added an empty-net goal for the Devils, who remained six points behind the eighth-place Rangers in the Eastern Conference as New York breezed to a 6-1 triumph over Florida on Thursday.
Ilya Bryzgalov finished with 28 saves for the Flyers, who are on the brink of elimination. Philadelphia resides seven points behind the Rangers with only four games remaining on its schedule.
After being shut out in its previous two games, New Jersey's scoring drought came to an end at 146 minutes, 13 seconds - courtesy of Carter's tally at 5:36 of the second period. Stephen Gionta skated into the offensive zone before feeding Carter, who beat Bryzgalov from the inner edge of the left faceoff circle.
Philadelphia nearly tied the game midway through the second, but officials quickly ruled that Jakub Voracek used a distinct kicking motion to deposit the puck into the net. That was as close as the Flyers would come against Brodeur, who preserved his second shutout in 2013 by stopping captain Claude Giroux from point-blank range midway through the third.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Flyers LW Scott Hartnell received a rude present on his 31st birthday from Devils D Andy Greene, who blasted him head-first into the boards during the second period. No penalty was called, however. ... New Jersey avoided its first 11-game winless stretch since 1990-91, when it posted an 0-7-4 mark. ... The Devils collected nine of a possible 10 points (4-0-1) versus the Flyers this season.
New Jersey | Philadelphia | |
Ryan Carter 1 | Points | N/A |
Ryan Carter 1 | Goals | N/A |
Stephen Gionta 1 | Assists | N/A |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Martin Brodeur 1.000 | Save Percentage | Ilya Bryzgalov .933 |
Martin Brodeur 23 | Saves | Ilya Bryzgalov 28 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
New Jersey | 31 | 3 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 11 | 31 |
Philadelphia | 23 | 0 | 0-2 | 3-3 | 15 | 27 |