Devils' 3-2 OT Loss to Flyers: 4 Takeaways

A couple of poor turnovers from Jack Hughes proved costly in the New Jersey Devils' 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

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It was a much better performance than the 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday evening. But the New Jersey Devils still couldn't come away with the second point in a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers. Here are four takeaways from the loss. 

Hughes Needs To Clean up the Turnovers

Jack Hughes has been the Devils' best player this season, but he had a rough game against the Flyers. You could easily argue it was his worst outing of the season. 

The Devils took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, thanks to Michael McLeod. But Ryan Poehling got it back almost immediately in the second period after a poor turnover from Hughes, who tried to make a risky cross-ice pass to Tyler Toffoli to break out of the defensive zone. 

Hughes didn't have his best game after then, either. His passing wasn't as sharp, and he was turning over the puck more than usual. He made a poor decision trying to pass the puck to his brother Luke in overtime, which led to a turnover and Owen Tippett scoring the game-winning goal.

Hughes' on-ice numbers were just OK; he finished with an expected goals percentage (xG%) of 53.15 percent, ranked fifth-lowest on the team. The Devils were actually better when Jack wasn't on the ice last night, which is a rarity. 

It'd be unfair to expect Jack to light up every team in an 82-game season. He will have off nights, as he did yesterday and in other recent games. The key is the response, and with the Edmonton Oilers coming to town tomorrow night, I'd expect a much better performance from the Devils' star player. 

Ruff Needs to Give Meier More Support

Devils coach Lindy Ruff revealed after yesterday's morning skate that Timo Meier's injury that kept him out for a couple of weeks was something that would affect his skating. It's clear watching him that he's missing a step, and yesterday was another example. 

Meier finished with the worst xG% among Devils skaters, as well as the worst Game Score. That hasn't been all that uncommon from him lately, but I also don't think Ruff is helping by placing him where he is in the lineup.