Overview
The losing streak continues for the New Jersey Devils as they drop their third straight game after beating these same Carolina Hurricanes a week ago. This game was a lot tighter than the matchup last week. Instead of a cluster of goals, this matchup featured tighter defense and better goaltending. The Devils faught hard, but ultimately lost.
Game Summary
Period 1
Despite being down 2-1, the Devils played a good period. They outshot the Hurricanes 10-6 and managed to get to the high-danger areas. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Devils had a high-danger Corsi-for % (HDCF%) of 63.64 and they finished the period with seven high-danger chances. However, Antti Raanta answered the bell early on.
Jon Gillies did give up a couple questionable goals where the puck managed to slide under his pad both times. He finally got settled in and played better as the period went on. The Devils got some depth scoring going as Jesper Boqvist scores his first of the year on a feed from Janne Kuokkanen.
Period 2
There was no scoring for either team, but the Devils did some good things. New Jersey outshot the Hurricanes 12-7. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Devils were flying and have a CF% of 62.07. There were several good chances with a Boqvist breakaway and a beautiful sequence by Jesper Bratt. Bratt made defensemen Jaccob Slavin look silly as he dangled his way to the net for a high-danger scoring chance. The Devils outplayed the Hurricanes the entire period and Aanti Raanta made some very large saves.
Period 3
This period had a very different story compared to the first two. The Devils got outplayed. Carolina came on strong, outshooting the Devils 10-3. Jon Gillies did well and kept the Devils in the game. Ultimately, the Devils lost, but it was another decent effort.
Game Notes
- Jon Gillies had a much better game, but improvement from him is needed. He did well stopping low-danger and medium-danger shots. As both goals came from high-danger areas. Out of the nine shots he faced in high-danger territory, he managed to stop seven.
- The best line of the game was the line of Janne Kuokkanen, Jesper Boqvist, and Jimmy Vesey. Not only did they contribute the lone Devils’ goal, but they had the best game statistically. According to Moneypuck.com, the line had an expected goals-for % of (xGF%) of 73.00 and a Corsi-for (CF%) of 60.00. Surprisingly, there was plenty to like from this line tonight.
What’s Next
The schedule continues as the New Jersey Devils faceoff against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:30 PM ET on Monday night.