Olympic hero Jack Hughes scores in OT to lift the Devils over the Flyers 3-2

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes scored with 1:37 left in overtime to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

Hughes scored on a wrist shot with an assist from Jesper Bratt in New Jersey’s home opener.

Hughes, who led Team USA to the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics last winter, led New Jersey with 77 points last season and ranked second with 27 goals despite missing 21 games with a hand injury. The Devils went 8-13-0 without Hughes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft.

His brother Luke tied the game at 2-all with a snapshot at 9:44 of the third period from Luke Evangelista.

Joseph Woll, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Toronto, stopped 41 shots for Philadelphia. Jake Allen made 23 saves for the Devils.

All four goals in regulation were scored by defensemen.

The Flyers, who suffered a 7-0 home loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, got goals from Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen.

Sanheim provided the Flyers with a 2-1 lead on a slap shot from Sean Couturier early in the final period.

Dougie Hamilton tied it at 1-1 for New Jersey with a shot from the point that deflected off the left post at 17:59 of the second period. Playing in his 306th game with New Jersey, he became the second fastest defenseman after Scott Stevens to record 200 points with the franchise. It took Stevens 250 games.

Ristolainen gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead when he redirected a shot from the point by Sanheim midway through the first period.

The Devils returned their top eight scorers from last season when they finished seventh in the Metropolitan Division at 42-37-3 (87 points).

Up Next

The Flyers host Carolina on Saturday.

The Devils visit the New York Islanders on Saturday.

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