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National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
New Jersey 6, Philadelphia 4
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 4, 2012
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen: Steve Miller, Michel Cormier
Attendance: 19862

Defenseman Kurtis Foster scored a pair of 5-on-3 power-play goals as the New Jersey Devils tallied three times in both the first and second periods and held on for a 6-4 road triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored New Jersey's NHL-best seventh shorthanded goal of the season and added two assists. Former Flyer Dainius Zubrus and Alexei Ponikarovsky both scored and set up a goal as the Devils won their third straight since the All-Star break.

Staked to a 6-0 advantage, Johan Hedberg's bid for his third shutout of the season and 20th career was ended when Wayne Simmonds scored 3:58 into the third period. For Simmonds, his third goal in two games gave him 16 for the season - matching his career high.

After Jaromir Jagr scored midway through the session, All-Star Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek brought some life into the Wells Fargo Center. The pair tallied 51 seconds apart to trim the deficit to two at 6-4 with 6:29 remaining, but the Flyers couldn't score again.

With the Devils nursing a 1-0 lead, Kovalchuk and Zubrus capped the first period by scoring within 56 seconds of each other. Zubrus appeared to pull down Giroux before feeding Kovalchuk, who wristed a shot from the top of the left circle past Sergei Bobrovsky for his team-leading 21st goal of the season.

Zubrus then burned his former team by scoring with four-tenths of a second remaining in the first period. A video review showed the puck crossed the line just prior to time running out.

Captain Zach Parise and Ponikarovsky capped New Jersey's four-goal explosion over a 2:34 span in the second period before Foster ended Bobrovsky's afternoon with his second tally of the game.
Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Philadelphia
Kurtis Foster 3 Points Claude Giroux 2
Kurtis Foster 2 Goals Claude Giroux 1
Ilya Kovalchuk 2 Assists Matt Carle 2
Kurtis Foster 2 Power Play Goals Claude Giroux 1
Ilya Kovalchuk 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Johan Hedberg .902 Save Percentage Ilya Bryzgalov 1.000
Johan Hedberg 37 Saves Sergei Bobrovsky 17
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 31 6 3-7 6-7 25 25
Philadelphia 41 4 1-7 4-7 25 37
Upcoming Games
  • Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Flyers have a W/L % of .467 after a win and .762 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Devils have a W/L % of .552 after a win and .591 after a loss.