Emery, Flyers bounce back to shut out Devils 1-0
NEWARK, N.J. - Less than 24 hours after Ray Emery was ejected from a game for leaving his crease to deliver a beating to the opposing goaltender in a blowout loss, he delivered his best performance as a Philadelphia Flyer.
Emery wasn't exactly busy, but he stopped all 14 shots he faced in a 1-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday night.
The 31-year-old goaltender faced a mere three shots in the final period, as the Flyers played a defensively sound game one night after losing 7-0 to the Washington Capitals in Philadelphia.
"It's just important to have a bounce-back effort after last night," said Emery, who had allowed 12 goals on 78 shots (.846 save percentage) entering Saturday. "It really was a complete team game from start to finish.
"The most encouraging thing was the third period. We really took it to them and we didn't give them anything. We need that after last night."
Emery relieved Steve Mason on Friday and allowed four goals on 15 shots before he was ejected skating to the other end of the ice to fight Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby. On Saturday he faced one fewer shot than he did Friday despite playing 37 more minutes than he did against the Capitals.
The lack of work wasn't a problem, according to Emery, who said his focus needed be high after the Flyers' worst loss of the season.
"On a night like tonight, it's not hard to stay focused after a night like last night," Emery said. "You challenge yourself. You could see it in the whole team that we were embarrassed from last night and we were going to show how much we wanted to play tonight."
Brayden Schenn scored the game's lone goal, redirecting a shot past Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur with 5:31 remaining in the first period. Schenn's third goal of the season helped the Flyers improve to 4-9-0.
"To get this win -- it's not an easy building or team to play against -- and to come out and get a greasy road win definitely feels good," Schenn said. "Good team effort tonight from goalie out and something to build off.
"Was this about pride? Definitely. You never want to get shelled 7-0 in your own building like we did and it's not even that. We were beaten 7-0 and there wasn't even any compete and lot of things that we did wrong. We put that behind us and wiped the slate clean and now build off this win."
The Devils (3-6-4) had won two in a row and were coming off a three-day break. Brodeur, who made 20 saves, didn't put the loss on the Devils missing key offensive players Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac. Instead, he credited the Flyers with playing a tight defensive game after allowing seven goals in their previous game.
"I think because of the way these guys played last night, I think they really played a careful game," Brodeur said. "They didn't give us anything. We had a couple chances to score, but we could count them on one hand probably that were decent and they scored that goal shooting on net with a tip-in.
"These are tight games. They're tough to play. You've got to give them credit. They didn't give up much room out there."
The Devils didn't generate much in the third period, but they had a pair of golden opportunities.
With about seven minutes remaining, center Adam Henrique found himself alone in front with Emery, but backhanded his chance wide. Right wing Michael Ryder also nearly tied with about four minutes left, his shot rang off the far post.
"It's tough when you lose 1-0 and you only generate 14 shots," Ryder said. "You have to kind of forget about it because we have a big game tomorrow."
NOTES: Flyers RW Steve Downie (head injury) and C Vinny Lecavalier (facial contusions) were out of the lineup because of injuries sustained during their brawl with the Washington Capitals on Thursday. ... Flyers D Luke Schenn, who appeared in his team's first 12 games, was a healthy scratch. D Hal Gill made his season debut in Schenn's place. ... The Flyers tied a team record by playing an entire game without committing a giveaway. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time that happened was December 12, 2009, also at New Jersey. ... Devils LW Elias (upper body) and C Zajac (ankle) were absent from the lineup. Coach Peter DeBoer said at the team's morning skate that only Zajac would be out vs. the Flyers, but Elias was added to the injury list before the game. ... Devils C Dainius Zubrus played in his 1,100th career game. ... The Devils visit the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. It marks the first time they will face LW Zach Parise since the former Devil left the team as a free agent in the summer of 2012.
