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Devils win season opener in Philly

Oct 10, 2014 - 3:30 AM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Dainius Zubrus scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period as the New Jersey Devils started their season with a 6-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

Mike Cammalleri scored two goals in his Devils debut. Michael Ryder added one goal and two assists for the Devils, who are coming off missing the playoffs for the second straight season.

"I like our group. I think we enjoyed each other and working hard," said Cammalleri. "A lot of guys are passionate about the game and working hard on being better. So that is really encouraging, I think that's a good lesson. But obviously we would have liked to play more of a controlled game where the scoreboard isn't zig zagging so much."

Cory Schneider stopped 35-of-39 shots as New Jersey began the post-Martin Brodeur era. The Devils opted not to re-sign Brodeur, the club's longtime starting goaltender, and signed Schneider to a seven-year contract. The Devils acquired Schneider in the summer of 2013, and the former Vancouver Canuck shared time in net with Brodeur last year.

Wayne Simmonds had two goals and an assist for the Flyers, who opened their season with a loss to the Bruins on Wednesday. Claude Giroux and Vincent Lecavalier also lit the lamp.

"Yeah we did a good job coming back in the game, we were playing aggressive and playing our game. It's frustrating," said Giroux.

Steve Mason turned aside 20-of-25 shots in defeat.

The score was tied 3-3 after the Flyers exploded for three goals late in the second period. But the Devils went back in front 4:16 into the final stanza when Patrik Elias scored off a pass from Marek Zidlicky.

The Flyers answered 15 seconds later when Lecavalier scored during a 2-on-1 rush.

The Devils, however, took the lead back for good at the 7:13 mark on Zubrus' shot from the right circle. Cammalleri added an empty-net goal with one minute remaining.

Earlier, New Jersey jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 12:05 mark of the first period. Ryder's nasty wrist shot from the top of the right circle got past Mason.

Ryder got the lone assist on Henrique's goal at 2:10 of the middle stanza. After Ryder forced the Flyers to turn the puck over in their own zone, Henrique scored from the right circle.

New Jersey took a 3-0 lead on Cammalleri's first goal as a Devil at 5:33. Jaromir Jagr, who played for the Flyers during the 2011-12 season, fired a shot from along the right boards that Cammalleri deflected in.

Philadelphia quickly tied things up with three goals over the final 4:16 of the period. Giroux got the home team on the board at 15:44 with a power-play goal from the top of the left circle.

Simmonds' shot from the bottom of the left circle beat Schneider with 56.7 seconds remaining.

The final goal of the period came after Ryane Clowe was called for tripping. Following a face-off win, Lecavalier fired a shot from the goal line that Simmonds deflected in. The score came with 0.4 ticks left on the clock.

Game Notes

The Devils split four games with Philadelphia last season ... Jagr ended with two assists and moved into sole possession of sixth place on the NHL's all- time scoring list with 1,757 points ... Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn was held out due to a lower-body injury. He had not missed a game since Mar. 30, 2013 when he was out of action for the final 15 games of the team's 2012-13 season with a left shoulder separation.