Laughton has goal, assist in return, Flyers defeat Devils

PHILADELPHIA -- Scott Laughton had a goal and an assist for the Philadelphia Flyers, who hung on for a 4-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Wells Fargo Center on Monday.

It was the 30-year-old forward’s first game back after missing three because of personal reasons.

"He's the guy that kind of keeps everyone together around here," Flyers forward Joel Farabee said of Laughton. "So, having him is great. When he's at the rink I think most guys are smiling, usually laughing at him. He keeps it light, and he's a really good leader for this team. We love having him. Obviously he went through a tough week, but it's our job as teammates to grab his back and he was great."

Farabee, Bobby Brink, and Garnet Hathaway scored for Philadelphia (23-22-6), which had been outscored 9-2 in losing its previous two games. Rasmus Ristolainen and Travis Konecny each had two assists, and Samuel Ersson made 31 saves.

Dougie Hamilton and Timo Meier scored for New Jersey (28-18-6), which had won its previous two games. Jake Allen made 22 saves.

New Jersey, which entered the game with the No. 2 power play in the NHL, had a chance to take an early lead when Ristolainen was called for a high-sticking double-minor at 3:50 of the first period. The Devils had just two shots on goal and allowed the Flyers two shots short-handed during the four-minute man-advantage.

"Power play killed us," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. "The four-minute power play was our worst of the season. And it sucked the life out of our game."

Philadelphia was able to build momentum and took a 2-0 lead on goals 28 seconds apart later in the first.

Brink scored a power-play goal on a one-timer from above the left face-off circle to make it 1-0 at 11:04, and Farabee pushed it to 2-0 at 11:32 when he drove to the net and slid the rebound of a Laughton shot under Allen.

"For us to weather the storm, per se, and play well on a kill that I think we're striving for better right now, it was a big confidence boost, and I think led into the power-play goal and just kind of building our game off of that," Hathaway said. "They're a really offensive team. They can hurt you on the rush so quickly.

"For us to not be chasing the game, forcing plays, and get the lead like we did, it helped us I think find our game a little more and just be a little simpler with the puck. We weren't stretching ourselves out to make plays. We were controlling the play."

Philadelphia went ahead 3-0 at 2:49 of the second period when Hathaway tipped a Cam York shot past Allen.

The Devils made it 3-1 at 18:47 when Hamilton's shot from the right side hit the post and bounced in the air. Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim tried to bat it away but instead knocked it off Ersson and into the net.

"Thought our details weren't good," Devils forward Jesper Bratt said. "We knew going into this game what kind of game it would be. It's a hard-fought game for space out there. Playing against Philly in the beginning of the game, we didn't embrace that. We wanted to be too cute with the puck and we didn't really create any momentum and we were feeding their offense a lot and we were spending a lot of time in our [defensive] zone.

"In the second we were able to play more like we need to play. We stopped being so cute in the neutral zone and took advantage when we had the chance."

Meier cut it to 3-2 at 18:38 of the third period with a one-timer from the top of the right circle with Allen pulled for an extra attacker.

Laughton scored an empty-net goal for the 4-2 final at 19:45.

NOTES: Devils captain Nico Hischier missed his first game of the season. Keefe said the forward returned to New Jersey for evaluation for an undisclosed injury. ... Flyers captain Sean Couturier missed the game because of illness. ... Devils forward Nathan Bastian left the game at 7:24 of the second period after being hit by Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler. Keefe did not have an update after the game. ... Ristolainen's two assists gave him 300 in the NHL. He's the eighth Finland-born defenseman to reach that milestone. ... Hamilton's goal was his 150th in the NHL; he's the eighth active defenseman with that many. ... The Flyers' goals 28 seconds apart in the first period were their second-fastest two goals of the season; Owen Tippett scored two in 23 seconds against the Florida Panthers on Dec. 5. ... Philadelphia won its fourth straight home game. ... Konecny has 12 points (six goals, six assists) during a nine-game point streak against the Devils. ... Tortorella coached his 1,598th game, tying Ken Hitchcock for seventh all-time.