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Takeaways from Flyers' loss to Devils: Tippett injured, miscues costly

by Jackie Spiegel
Adam Hunger / AP

Games aren't stored on tape anymore so there won't be a bonfire back in Philly. Although the Flyers stayed with the Devils in the first period, things fell apart in the second, resulting in a 5-0 loss on Wednesday. "We got beat tonight, fair and square," Scott Laughton said. Here are four things to know following the loss.

Adam Hunger / AP

1. Owen Tippett left in the second period with an injury

Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

The speedy winger was crushed in the neutral zone by Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon. Was it interference? Was it charging? The referees didn't call a penalty. Tippett immediately went down the tunnel and did not return.

Coach John Tortorella was angry on the bench because he didn't think the puck was there but watched it after the game and said "the puck was there." The vibes did seem to shift after the hit and roughing penalties were consistently doled out. Tortorella did not have an update, but the Flyers forward was spotted postgame.

Adam Hunger / AP

2. The Devils made adjustments on their power play

Adam Hunger / AP

After getting goose-egged on Monday, the Devils looked determined on the power play. The No. 3 power play in the NHL entering Wednesday scored twice in three chances after making tweaks to counterattack the Flyers' aggressive PK.

The Devils had 11 shot attempts, with Ondřej Palát and Nathan Bastian scoring from in front; New Jersey is the top team in high-danger chances on the power play. "You could tell right from the first power play that it looked like they were trying to force it to the middle and break our pressure," Travis Sanheim said.

Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

3. Sam Ersson wasn't as bad as the score would indicate

Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

Although Ersson allowed four goals on 16 shots, he was actually quite good. In the first period, he made seven saves, including stoning Stefan Noesen twice from the doorstep during a power play with 6 seconds left on the clock.

In the second period, he stopped Jack Hughes on a shorthanded 2-on-1 and then robbed Tomáš Tatar on a breakaway out of the penalty box. "It should have been far worse if it wasn't for the way he played," Garnet Hathaway said. Tortorella said pulling Ersson after No. 4 "wasn't about Erss" but about getting Ivan Fedotov work.

Adam Hunger / AP

4. Devils capitalized on miscues

Adam Hunger / AP

One of the NHL's best teams in the middle frame, the Devils scored four times in the second with two coming on the power play. The second goal, at even strength, came off a giveaway by Sanheim in the Devils' zone with Luke Hughes scoring.

The last goal, in the third, was off a turnover inside the Devils' blue line. "We loosened up a little bit after it started to get a little bit crazy out there. Thought we were cheating a little bit, and opened ourselves up and got into a track meet, and can't do it against that team. They're too good," Laughton said.

Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
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