Brief Overview
Coming off a loss to the Seattle Kraken, the New Jersey Devils came into Vegas looking for a bounce back victory against a team playing desperate hockey. In the end, the Devils would play spoiler and defeated the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 3-2. The Devils head home and finished the road trip with a 3-1-1 record.
First Period
It was a wild start to the period. The Vegas Golden Knights had three breakaways, and Nico Hischier had a good chance on a two-on-one. Goaltending was sharp early on. However, the New Jersey Devils drew first blood. Damon Severson would keep the puck in on a failed clearout by Alex Pietrangelo. Severson would then find an open Michael McLeod for the one-timer, and Nate Bastian tapped in the rebound.
The teams would continue to trade chances, and at the 15:36 mark of the period, Ty Smith would be called for interference. The Devils would kill the penalty and hold off the surge of the Golden Knights.
Both teams would head to the second period with the Devils leading 1-0. Per Natural Stat Trick, Dougie Hamilton finished the period with a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 81.25 and when on the ice New Jersey a shot attempt differential of 13-3.
Second Period
The second period was back and forth. Chance after chance followed by save after save. After a high sticking call two and a half minutes into the period, The Devils would get an early power play that Vegas would kill off.
The Golden Knights would go on to dominate the rest of the second period. And finally, they would light the lamp. A simple rush into the zone saw forward Keegan Kolsar fire a shot that took a bounce of P.K. Subban’s shin guard and in.
Goaltender Andrew Hammond would fight off a chance by forward Chandler Stephenson to end the period and the score would remain tied at 1 heading to the third period.
Third Period
The third period was all Devils. At the 3:14 mark of the period, Andreas Johnsson would roof a shot past a scrambling Robin Lehner to take a 2-1 lead. Four minutes later, the Devils would add to their lead. After a turnover in the neutral zone, Jesper Boqvist would skate in and dangle through Alex Pietrangelo to snipe the shot past Lehner to make it 3-1.
Sparks would fly, as the Golden Knights would score with 1:14 remaining. After pulling the goalie, Chandler Stephenson would pounce on a loose puck to make it 3-2. The Devils would fight off the late surge and emerge victorious.
Key Notes
- Andrew Hammond would have his best start in a Devils’ uniform. Per Money Puck, Hammond would go on to have 2.27 goals saved above expected. Hammond played great for the Devils and was a large part in their victory last night.
- Nate Bastian had himself a multi-point game. He tallied a goal and an assist.
What’s Next?
The New Jersey Devils return home and take the ice Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres.