Devils dropped by Flyers 3-1

   The New Jersey Devils dominated the first two periods against the Philadelphia Flyers, but could only come away with a one-one tie.

Philadelphia took command in the third period, scored both goals of the period, and waltzed off with a 3-1 win.

Philadelphia won both of the two-game set in Newark and leave the Devils losers in three of their last four.

Damon Severson scored the first goal (1) of the game and the Devils' only goal in the first period.

New Jersey's next game is Saturday afternoon in Buffalo against the Sabres.

Hell Raisers

1) The Devils did have some good news in this loss as Jesper Bratt made his season debut.

Bratt had two scoring chances in the first period and his skating was strong but understandably tired as the game progressed.

2) I've liked most of what Tom Fitzgerald has done as general manager, but the absence of Bratt from the lineup was due to poor handling of the situation by Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald mishandled negotiations and then between visa issues with Sweden and having to clear quarantine, the Devils lost out on Bratt's services needlessly.

3) The Devils really did play well for two periods and they held the Flyers at bay with few scoring chances.

But that third period...

You had the feeling that the Devils felt they had taken their best shot and had only a draw to show for it.

It felt inevitable that the tide would turn and if I knew it- the Flyers knew it as well.

4) The Devils didn't allow a goal on the penalty kill tonight, which was refreshing,but another problem has come to the forefront- faceoffs.

The Devils won only 14 of 53 faceoffs and for people that are bad at math such as myself- that is a terrible 26 percent.

Perhaps the days are past when teams carry a Yanic Perrault type as a faceoff specialist, but other that I don't know who steps up and starts raising that number to something respectable.

5) I've tried to be quiet and I've tried to give every benefit of the doubt, but P.K. Subban isn't very good.

And what looked to be a steal in the 2019-20 offseason for the Devils has turned out to be a theft for the Predators.

Subban's slowed in speed and for a player that was once so effective on the power play has now become a one-dimensional bomber with a power shot that he prays goes in.

It's been a while since I've seen a player decline this quickly and at nine million both this year and next year, Subban would have to make a remarkable turnaround for this to be anything other than a sunk cost.