The New Jersey Devils wrapped up their preseason with a 4–3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, finishing training camp with a record of 3-2-2.
While the loss might sting, there’s no reason for concern. The Devils iced a lineup made up almost entirely of prospects and players fighting for roster spots, while the Flyers dressed many of their regulars. Given that, it’s no surprise the Devils couldn’t quite finish the job on the road, but they certainly held their own.
Devils Lineup
Cotter – Glendening – Gritsyuk
Lachance – Rooney – Hämeenaho
Hardman – Malone – Parent
Gruden – Melovsky – Legaré
Cholowski – Addison
Edwards – Strand
Vilen – Diotte
Allen
Romanov
Flyers Lineup
Dvorak – Couturier – Michkov
Grebenkin – Cates – Brink
Tippett – Zegras – Konecny
Abols – Luchanko – Hathaway
York – Sanheim
Seeler – Drysdale
Ginning – Juulsen
Vladar
Ersson
The Flyers’ roster featured more than a dozen regulars from last season, while the Devils relied on prospects and had backup goaltender Jake Allen in net.
Despite the mismatch, the Devils battled hard.
New Jersey opened the scoring late in the first period when Kevin Rooney buried one at 16:00. The Flyers’ Travis Sanheim tied it up just two minutes later.
Early in the second, Lenni Hämeenaho scored just 40 seconds in to give the Devils a 2–1 lead, but Travis Konecny responded seven minutes later to even things up once again heading into the third.
In the final frame, Paul Cotter and Konecny traded goals, sending the game to overtime and eventually a shootout.
Zegras got one past Allen and won the game for the Flyers, sealing Philadelphia’s 4–3 win.
For New Jersey, this game was less about the result and more about evaluation, one final chance to see how prospects performed under pressure.
For Philadelphia, under new head coach Rick Tocchet, it was about building chemistry and momentum ahead of a season where the Flyers aim to end their playoff drought, which dates back to 2020 and ties the longest in franchise history.
Sure, the Devils didn’t win, but their young roster pushed a veteran Flyers lineup to a shootout on the road. That’s a sign of promise, not concern.