National Hockey League
Philadelphia 4, New Jersey 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, December 4, 2015
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Brad Meier
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 14825

NEWARK, N.J. -- There is a new feeling beginning to permeate the Philadelphia Flyers' dressing room these days.

It is confidence.

"We feel good about ourselves," right winger Wayne Simmonds said, a few minutes after fellow right winger Matt Read's goal with 1:36 left in overtime the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on Friday.

Simmonds, left winger Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and center Claude Giroux also scored for Philadelphia (11-10-5), which has won a season-high four in a row.

"I really believe we're not getting as frustrated as we used to. We're a (confident) bunch, we have each other's back and we support each other on the ice so we're not worried about mistakes and when mistakes happen we make sure it doesn't happen again," captain Giroux said. "Guys are confident in how we play and I think our system, we're responsible with it."

Right winger Jakub Voracek finished with two assists and goaltender Michal Neuvirth made 15 saves.

While the Flyers are brimming with a newfound self-belief, the Devils seethed at a performance they felt was subpar.

Despite receiving goals from left winger Stefan Matteau, right winger Kyle Palmieri and left winger Mike Cammalleri, New Jersey (13-10-3) lost for the fourth time in its last six games (2-2-2). The Devils are 5-6-3 at home.

"We seem to play very well on the road and we should be playing that way at home," said Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, who stopped 21 of 25 shots. "It's good to be good on the road but you have to take care of home ice, too. (It) doesn't mean anything if you have a good road record if you don't at home."

The teams traded goals in the first period, and went into intermission tied 1-1. Matteau opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at 6:36. The goal was Matteau's first of the season, a sharp angled backhander that fooled Neuvirth.

The Flyers drew even on Simmonds' power play goal 3:20 later. Simmonds stuffed a feed from Voracek past Schneider.

Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead at 7:12 of the second period on Giroux's 5-on-3 power-play goal. With Palmieri (tripping) and defenseman Andy Greene (delay of game) serving penalties, Giroux one-timed Voracek's feed for the go-ahead goal.

"They made us pay," Schneider said. "You give those guys enough time and they're going to make a play."

The Flyers' lead lasted until Palmieri ripped a drive from the left circle 1:55 into the third to tie the game 2-2.

Bellemare's second goal of the season put the Flyers up 3-2 midway through the third period. Bellemare jammed center Chris VandeVelde's rebound under Schneider for just his eighth goal in 99 NHL games.

Cammalleri's power-play goal with one minute left in regulation tied the game at 3-3.

The Devils lamented a blown opportunity to leave their home rink with a win, and pointed the onus on themselves.

The game remained tied until Read's winner. Read knocked down Palmieri in the slot to begin the sequence which led to his goal. The Flyer carried the puck into the offensive zone on a 2 on 1 with center Sean Couturier before firing a shot that Schneider got a piece of but rolled into the net.

"I'd say it was pretty lucky to hit the goalie in the shoulder and go over and into the net," Read said. "It's an important two points tonight."

"We definitely didn't play the way we can play," defenseman John Moore said. "You can't be taking any consolation prizes, that's for sure."

NOTES: New Jersey coach John Hynes did not have an update on the condition of C Travis Zajac on Friday afternoon. Zajac was injured during the first period of the Devils' 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C. "He's going to see the doctors tonight," Hynes said. ... C Jacob Josefson replaced Zajac on New Jersey's second line. C Sergey Kalinin dressed in place of Zajac and was slotted on a line with LW Stefan Matteau and RW Tyler Kennedy. ... New Jersey scratched D Eric Gelinas and RW Brian O'Neill. ... C Sam Gagner and C Vincent Lecavalier were the Flyers' scratches. ... The announced attendance was 14,825. ... Philadelphia outshot the Devils 25-18 and finished with a 44-32 advantage in attempted shots. ... The Flyers were 2 for 3 on the power play, while New Jersey was 1 for 4.
Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   New Jersey
Claude Giroux 2 Points Michael Cammalleri 2
Claude Giroux 1 Goals Michael Cammalleri 1
Jakub Voracek 2 Assists Michael Cammalleri 1
Claude Giroux 1 Power Play Goals Michael Cammalleri 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Michal Neuvirth .833 Save Percentage Cory Schneider .840
Michal Neuvirth 15 Saves Cory Schneider 21
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 25 4 2-3 3-4 17 27
New Jersey 18 3 1-4 1-3 15 26
Upcoming Games
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Florida. The Devils have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .583 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Flyers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .375 after a loss.