In front of a limited capacity Sunday night at the Wells Fargo Center, Claude Giroux took over third on the Flyers' all-time scoring list.
He did so in comeback style.
The Flyers survived a scare from the skidding Devils by prevailing, 4-3, in a shootout. Giroux rallied the Flyers with a pair of goals in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime.
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SIGN UP HERE With the tallies, the 33-year-old captain passed Brian Propp on the franchise's all-time points list.
"Brian Propp was a great player here," Giroux said postgame. "Just being able to pass him, it’s an honor. Being able to win this game, it feels even better."
Kevin Hayes scored the six-round shootout winner. Things weren't looking pretty for the Flyers (22-19-7) until the last-ditch effort of pulling the goalie and the heroics from the club's core. James van Riemsdyk and Jakub Voracek assisted both of Giroux's markers.
The Devils (14-27-7) have lost 10 straight games and are 1-11-3 in their last 15.
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• Truly impressive stuff from Giroux, who now has 850 career points, all with the Flyers of course.
He is Philadelphia's longest-tenured active athlete. He made his NHL debut with the Flyers before the Phillies won the 2008 World Series.
"One thing that everybody knows who has been around G, and you guys have been around him much more than I have, is his desire to win, his desire to compete," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said. "That’s what you need from your captain, that’s what you need from your driving force. He’s doing everything he can to steer the ship in the right direction."
He's also climbing the ladder of franchise icons. He trails Bob Clarke (1,210) and Bill Barber (883) on the Flyers' all-time points list.
"He’s one of the most competitive human beings out there," Sean Couturier said. "Anything he does, he wants to win. I think it reflects on everyone on the team — you have no choice but to follow up. That’s what makes him such a great leader, great captain."
• With Shayne Gostisbehere set to miss seven to 10 days because of a minor MCL sprain, Samuel Morin entered the lineup and was paired with Philippe Myers.
The inexperience of the duo showed. Morin was on the ice for New Jersey's first two goals and Myers was on the ice for all three.
When the Devils took a 2-1 lead in the second period, Nathan Bastian somehow split Myers and Morin to win a puck race, which set up a wide-open Miles Wood.
The 24-year-old Myers has plenty of potential and upside. That's all still there. But he oftentimes has fought his confidence and decision-making this season. Sunday night was only his 107th career NHL game.
Vigneault gave Myers a vote of confidence by putting him out there in overtime. Myers had a strong play along the boards during the bonus session.
The 25-year-old Morin has transitioned back to the blue line after playing left winger earlier this season. He's going to have spurts of both good and bad.
Vigneault and assistant coach Mike Yeo relied on Ivan Provorov for 29:01 minutes and Travis Sanheim for 25:38. Myers finished with an assist, four hits and three shots in 19:37.
"Tonight we had a couple guys in the back end there that had a hard time moving the puck," Vigneault said. "Yeosy decided to shorten the bench a little bit. [Provorov] and [Sanheim] had some big minutes as far as helping us get the puck out of our end."
The Flyers will continue to look at young defensemen over their final eight games this season. But it has been clear that the Flyers need help on the back end. And their youngsters need to be a part of that, too.
• Brian Elliott was in net for the Flyers with Alex Lyon backing up. Elliott battled and made 29 saves, six of which came in overtime.
The 36-year-old veteran denied four of six shots in the shootout.
Carter Hart did not take the ice in Sunday's morning skate. Vigneault said Hart's recovery from a mild knee sprain is simply taking a little bit longer than the club had anticipated. Given the Flyers are out of the playoff race, they're going to be prudent with the 22-year-old. Hart last played April 15 and hasn't practiced with the team since April 16.
"I know Carter wants to get back and playing with his teammates, but he still feels a little bit of discomfort," Vigneault said before the game. "We've had four different doctors take a look at the MRI, they all say the same thing, that it's a mild sprain. ... We're just being a little bit cautious there, I know how badly he wants to get back at it. He knows that a goaltender never plays at 100 percent, it's the toughest position in hockey, he wants to get back and help out his teammates. We'll see here in the next couple of days how he feels and hopefully he can get the green light to get back skating and playing with his teammates."
New Jersey netminder Mackenzie Blackwood entered 3-0-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average lifetime against the Flyers. He finished with 33 saves.
• Myers recorded his assist on Couturier's goal, which had the game knotted after 20 minutes. For the first time in 10 games, New Jersey didn't trail at first intermission.
• Jackson Cates had three shots in 9:02 minutes. Nolan Patrick was back in the lineup at fourth-line right winger and played 10:41 minutes.
"He's been in good spirits, he's always smiling around the rink and he's working hard, trying to get back to where he wants to get to," Travis Konecny said before the game. "He's just fun to be around. As much as he feels like he might not be where he's wanting to be at, he's still a good teammate every day."
• The Flyers on Tuesday head to Newark, New Jersey, for their second of four straight games against the Devils (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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