The Devils’ 7-0 dismantling of the Flyers offers proof that there is no success without suffering
The Devils, who have finished last in the Metro Division in eight of the past 10 seasons, have built through the draft and are now starting to reap the rewards.
Long before New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes was breaking ankles while making a spinning backhanded assist or pulling off slick moves to score on a breakaway all in the same night, the Flyers’ rival up the turnpike toiled at the bottom of the standings for nearly a decade with players that could only dream of having a quarter of Hughes’ talent.
There’s no success, and no Hughes, without suffering. Prior to this year, the Devils finished last or second-to-last in their division in eight of the last 10 seasons. In doing so, they nabbed two No. 1 overall picks in the last six drafts (Hughes in 2019 and center Nico Hischier in 2017) and selected in the top five in two other years (defenseman Šimon Nemec No. 2 overall in 2022 and defenseman Luke Hughes No. 4 overall in 2021).
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Fast forward to this season, and the Devils rank second in the Metropolitan division (39-15-5) and are on their way to reaching the postseason for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
So, moments after the Devils scored a touchdown and nailed the extra point in their 7-0 shutout victory over the Flyers on Saturday night at the Prudential Center, coach John Tortorella managed to find some perspective on the Flyers’ struggles by looking at their opponent’s bench.
“We’re not anywhere near there right now,” Tortorella said. “This was probably them a few years ago, Jersey, when they were going through their process.”
Earlier this season, however, the organization seemed to suggest that the “process” wouldn’t be all that lengthy. After all, three months ago, general manager Chuck Fletcher remarked that the Flyers — 8-10-5 at the time — were just five points out of a wild-card spot. But reality has hit the team like a barrage of pucks this month as the Flyers have gone 2-7-1 since the All-Star break, including blowout losses to the Devils, the Seattle Kraken (6-2), the Vancouver Canucks (6-2), and the Montreal Canadiens (5-2).
In those 10 games in February, the Flyers have scored just 18 goals from play (excluding shootout goals on Feb. 9) while allowing 40. It doesn’t help that leading scorer Travis Konecny, who is tied for the team lead in goals this month with three, has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury sustained against the Calgary Flames on Feb. 20.
Konecny’s injury served as one of several nadirs in the Flyers’ week of suffering. The Flyers won just one game in Calgary out of two sets of back-to-backs. Tortorella made defenseman Travis Sanheim a healthy scratch in front of friends and family members at the Saddledome, where he played junior hockey for the Calgary Hitmen. Tortorella limited winger Joel Farabee to just 3 minutes, 52 seconds of ice time that day, and a few days later, the Daily Faceoff reported that Farabee’s camp has not been pleased with the way his season has played out under the new coach.
Where do the Flyers go from here? On Saturday night, Tortorella accepted where the team is in its process, emphasizing the importance of getting the most out of the remaining games while mitigating as much of the pain as possible.
“I just want our guys to have some sanity in the last quarter here by being smart when we play these games now,” Tortorella said. “Because we have a limited lineup. And for us to compete and feel good about ourselves on certain nights with some wins, we’re gonna have to make an adjustment and stay consistent in understanding who we are.”
After the Flyers hovered around .500 throughout January, going 8-4-2, their recent struggles should give Fletcher further clarity heading into the March 3 trade deadline. He has an opportunity to start collecting future assets in exchange for short-term rentals, including winger James van Riemsdyk, who was held out of Saturday’s game because he was “a little banged up.” He could also make a statement by trading away players with term on their contracts that do not fit into Tortorella’s long-term vision.
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The Flyers now boast a 23-28-10 record (seventh in the Metro) and are nine points firmly out of a wild card spot. If the season ended tomorrow, the Flyers would be eighth in the draft lottery with a 6% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick, according to Tankathon.
As the Devils know, in the salary-cap era, there is no success without suffering. The Flyers are familiar with the latter, but how quickly they can achieve the former remains in question.