New Jersey Devils Fall 5-1 In First Game After Firing Tom Fitzgerald

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - APRIL 07: Porter Martone #94 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates against Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils during the first period at Prudential Center on April 07, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images That’ll do it for the 2025-26 New Jersey Devils. We’ve all known this season has been over for a long time now, but tonight’s 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers sealed the deal.

Thanks to this loss plus an Ottawa Senators win out of town, the New Jersey Devils have officially been eliminated from postseason contention this season. It was only a matter of time. In their first game after general manager Tom Fitzgerald was fired , the Devils had a chance to show some fire and pride.

Not just as a show of respect to their former GM, not just as a way to show they feel bad they got someone fired, but also because they had a chance to put a major dent in a hated rival’s playoff hopes. Philadelphia came in having won 14 of their last 20 games, which has vaulted them into playoff position for the first time in a while. Their hold on a postseason spot is very tenuous though, and a loss this evening would’ve caused some damage.

Instead, Jacob Markstrom allowed a goal on the second shot he faced, then allowed another one in the blink of an eye, and it was all over from there. To the Devils’ credit, after they went down 2-0 in the opening minutes, they really turned it on and smothered the Flyers through the rest of the first period. They pulled to within 2-1 thanks to a Cody Glass deflection goal off a Jonas Siegenthaler shot.