In the final game before the holiday break, the Philadelphia Flyers fell into a deep early deficit as they went on to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-3, at PPG Paints Arena on Monday.

The Flyers got within one point in the second period after a Sean Couturier goal, but could not keep up with Pittsburgh's scoring pace. The loss was the Flyers' fourth over the last five games.

But the game nearly got away from the Penguins when they were virtual no-shows for much of the second period, as Philadelphia got back to within a goal before the Penguins secured a 7-3 victory Monday evening to raise their record to 16-15-5. It is the first time they’ve been above NHL .500 since they were 3-2 in mid-October.

Captain Nico Hischier collected a goal and two assists and Jacob Markstrom made 12 saves to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday in Newark, N.J.