Veteran defenseman Nate Prosser makes impressive Flyers debut in 3-1 win over Devils

For the first time in two seasons, veteran Nate Prosser was in an NHL lineup Thursday in New Jersey – and in his Flyers debut, he made a good first impression by scoring just the 11th goal of his 10-year career and contributing solid defensive work.

The stay-at-home defenseman was paired with Erik Gustafsson (two assists), who was a healthy scratch the previous game. Prosser, signed as a free agent on July 1, 2019, seemed to have a calming effect on the defense.

In addition to his goal in Thursday’s 3-1 win over the Devils, Prosser blocked three shots in 13 minutes, 12 seconds of ice time and excelled during his four minutes on the penalty kill.

“The minutes he played were hard minutes and he played physical,” coach Alain Vigneault said.

Prosser said he felt comfortable because he played for Mike Yeo when he was Minnesota’s head coach. Yeo is now a Flyers assistant who coaches the defense and penalty kill.

Michael Raffl, who scored the game-winner Thursday, said the amiable Prosser is “an absolute legend in the locker room.” Claude Giroux called him The Processor and a “team guy,” and said he’s a “very smart hockey player and always in good position.”

As for playing for the first time in 10 months, when he was with the Phantoms, Prosser said, “it was “unreal” to be back on the ice. Words can’t begin to describe it. I never gave up hope.”

Before the game, Vigneault said he liked the experience the 6-foot-2, 201-pound Prosser brought to the lineup and that he “deserves an opportunity to play.”

Robert Hagg and rookie Mark Friedman came out of the lineup.

Vigneault said Hagg was “average” and hadn’t won enough one-on-one puck battles in the last couple games, and that he needed Friedman to show “more bite and urgency” in his game.

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Prosser, 34, entered the night having played 354 NHL games – 353 with Minnesota, one with St. Louis – and collecting 47 points and an “even” rating. Prosser spent last season with the AHL’s Phantoms and had 10 points and a minus-4 rating in 59 games.

Brent Flahr, a Flyers assistant general manager, was also in Minnesota’s front office when Prosser was with the Wild.

“He’s a solid defender, kind of a scrappy guy and the details of his game are good,” Flahr said. “He’s a real character guy who comes to play and comes to battle.”

In Minnesota, Prosser was usually the sixth or seventh defenseman. “A lot of times, he was the seventh guy and he’d sit in the press box 10 games in a row and then would come into a big game and play well – and that’s not easy to do,” Flahr said.

Defenseman Phil Myers (rib) skated Thursday without any ill effects, and Vigneault wasn’t sure if he would be ready to play Saturday against the Islanders. The coach estimated that center Sean Couturier (rib) was “a couple weeks away” from playing.

For the first time since the Flyers were defeated by the New York Islanders in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals, four games to three, the teams will meet Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center. They will also play there on Sunday night.

The Flyers’ offense was shut down in last year’s playoff series, managing just 16 goals in seven games against New York – and only three goals, total, in the four losses.

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Entering the night, James van Riemsdyk and Travis Konecny were tied for third in the NHL with five goals apiece. Van Riemsdyk was tied with Toronto’s John Tavares for the most power-play goals in the league. … New Jersey’s Lindy Ruff became the seventh coach in NHL history to coach his 1,500th game Thursday. Vigneault (1,292) is 15th on the list.