Jake Allen stops 24 as Devils rout Flyers 5-0

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey scored four times in the second period and Jake Allen made 24 saves as the Devils defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-0 on Wednesday.

Ondrej Palat, Luke Hughes, Nathan Bastian and Dawson Mercer scored for New Jersey in a 13-minute span as the Devils won for the third time in four games. Jack Hughes scored early in the third, his 20th goal of the season.

The shutout was Allen’s third this season and the 27th of his career. New Jersey’s starter Jacob Markstrom is out four to six weeks after suffering a knee injury against Boston on Jan. 22.

Palat beat Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson on the power play 54 seconds into the middle period. Luke Hughes made it 2-0 at 6:27. Bastian added another power play goal at 12:41 followed by Mercer at 13:43.

Timo Meier, Brett Pesce and Jesper Bratt each had two assists.

Flyers coach John Tortorella yanked Ersson after Mercer’s goal and replaced him with Ivan Fedotov.

Jack Hughes made it 5-0 at 1:58 of the third. He also assisted on Palat’s goal and leads New Jersey with 60 points.

Devils captain Nico Hischier missed his second contest after being cross-checked in the midsection by Montreal’s Nick Suzuki last Saturday.

Ersson made 12 saves. Fedotov stopped nine in relief.

Takeaways

Devils: Improved to 15-8-4 at home. New Jersey is 8-2-1 at Prudential Center since Dec. 12.

Flyers: Fell to 11-12-5 on the road. Philadelphia is 2-5-2 in their last nine road games.

Key moment

Palat’s goal turned the momentum in New Jersey’s favor after a scoreless first period.

Key stat

Bratt now has 58 points in 53 games, one year after putting up a career-high 83 points.

Up Next:

The Flyers host the New York Islanders on Thursday. The Devils visit the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl