Summary
First Period
At the end of what was an incredibly up and down contest, the Devils found themselves on the losing end of a 5-3 game. A common theme of this game was New Jersey finding themselves behind the eight ball. It began in the first period after James van Riemsdyk tipped a shot from the slot that beat Scott Wedgewood.
Second Period
Early in the second period, the Devils were back to the penalty kill following a questionable interference call against Kyle Palmieri. This penalty once again resulted in a JVR deflection goal to make it 2-0.
P.K. Subban then managed to take two penalties in just over a four minute window, but somehow the Devils killed them off and kept the game within reach. Things settled down a bit following the second Subban penalty, and the recent play of Michael McLeod was finally rewarded with the first goal of his career.
With just over three minutes left in the second, newcomer Andreas Johnsson finally found his way onto the scoresheet as well. Johnsson took a drop pass from Kuokkanen, dragged it through the slot and fired a wrister that was tipped home by Zajac to get things all tied up at 2-2.
Third Period
Although the Devils managed to claw their way back, things quickly unraveled in the third period. The Flyers had goals from Nolan Patrick and Joel Farabee before Ivan Provorov iced the game with an empty netter making it 5-2. Pavel Zacha did manage to sneak home a goal in the dying minute, but that was as close as the Devils would get with the final score being 5-3.
Takeaways
Special teams
The Devils penalty kill remains to be a serious achilles heel for the team and quite frankly looks beyond dreadful on the ice. Their coverage is seemingly non-existent and players are constantly just left standing around watching the play develop.
Opposing teams can easily and consistently setup and execute any scoring opportunity they want, whether a slot one-timer, a tip in front, shots from the point, the list goes on and on. If the Devils cannot figured it out in a hurry, it could make for a long season. It would also be very beneficial for the team to stop taking sloppy penalties.
McLeod finally Breaks the Ice
One bright spot that can be taken away from this game was Michael McLeod finally getting his first career goal. McLeod has looked great to start the year, and his hard work finally paid off tonight. It will be interesting to see how his game continues to transform. Hopefully, having the weight of his first goal off his shoulders allows him to be even more loose on the ice.
What’s Next?
The Devils will look for revenge when they take on the Flyers again this Thursday, January 28th.