Last night, the New Jersey Devils won their 11th game in a row against the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road. The game, which was won in overtime, was their third win in the extra session of the year. The win streak is now tied for the longest since 2001 and the second longest in franchise history. It is also the longest win streak of head coach Lindy Ruff’s career.
The one year where a Devils team won more games in succession was 2000-01, a year where the Devils were one game away from a Stanley Cup.
Recap
Period One
Toronto controlled much of the possession at even strength through the first period. They couldn’t quite break through New Jersey’s stifling defense, but did draw a penalty. On that power play Michael Bunting threaded a pass through a maze of defenders to find a wide open Auston Matthews for a goal.
The Devils didn’t take long to respond however, as just 23 seconds later Jesper Bratt took a pass in the high slot from Erik Haula and snapped it bar-down past goaltender Matt Murray for the tying goal.
Period Two
The second period was one with more back and forth play, but it was the Devils who struck on the rush. Nico Hischier scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season on a nice wrist shot top shelf to give his team the lead.
Period Three
The Devils had chance after chance in this period, but just couldn’t land the finishing blow. Some of those chances included a nasty deke by Hischier who just missed the shot wide on the far side and a two-on-one where Miles Wood missed on an open net.
As quickly as the Devils were building momentum, they lost it just as quickly. Michael McLeod chipped the puck over the glass without it touching anything else for a potentially game-altering delay of game penalty. While the Devils would kill off the penalty, the Leafs would score shortly after on a shot by William Nylander that went off the stick of Jonas Siegenthaler and by Vitek Vanecek to tie the game.
Overtime
The Devils would gain possession quickly in overtime and would never truly relinquish it. Jack Hughes tried a drop for Yegor Sharangovich that almost resulted in an odd man rush the other way.
However, Hughes read the play well and picked off a pass from a tired John Tavares and drove to the net. His initial shot was stopped, but the follow up came right to Sharangovich who was trailing the play and scored his fourth of the year to send the Devils to their 11th straight victory.
Game Notes
Vitek “Brick Wall” Vanecek
On this historic win streak Vitek Vanecek has been, well, a brick wall. His .933 save percentage (SV%) is impressive in its own right, but his 5.41 goals saved above expected (GSAx) is what really brings it all together.
Devils’ fans have been preaching for about a year now that all this team needed was a goalie to win. Vanecek has been proving those fans right these past few weeks.
Top Line Dominance
The Devils’ top line, which has started almost every period recently, has been one of the best in the NHL. The combination of Fabian Zetterlund, Nico Hischier, and Tomas Tatar has just clicked for the team.
Not only have the three players combined for 12 goals, but their underlying numbers are impressive as well. According to moneypuck, the trio has the highest expected goals percentage (xG%) of any line with a minimum of 90 minutes of time on ice together at an unbelievable 73.70. That number is over a full six percentage points higher than the next closest line.
Next Up: Saturday, November 19th in Ottawa against the Senators at 1:00 P.M. ET.