Overview
The New Jersey Devils (29-12-3) defeated the San Jose Sharks (13-23-9) 4-3 in a shootout yesterday. The Devils won in ugly fashion, as they looked shaky for large chunks of the game and played down to a cellar-dwelling Sharks squad. Nevertheless, the Devils came through in the clutch to squeak by San Jose.
First Period
New Jersey came flying out of the gate, generating a two-on-one seconds into the game to enable a Ryan Graves’ goal. The Devils didn’t play well for the rest of the period despite the early goal. They seemed sloppy, turning over the puck in the defensive zone and never being able to transition into the offensive zone.
With four minutes to go in the period, the referees bizarrely sent both teams to their dressing rooms for what turned out to be a broken Zamboni door at the Sharks’ end. The NHL called for an early intermission to fix the door, essentially adding the remaining four minutes onto the second period. Arena staff quickly fixed the door and the players returned to the ice after a normal 18-minute long intermission to play the remaining four minutes of the first frame as well as the second period.
The Sharks jumped on the Devils after the early break, scoring two goals before the period officially ended.
Timo Meier scored the first one, blasting a one-timer from the crease to tie the game at one. The Devils then took a too many men on the ice penalty, creating a late power play opportunity for San Jose. They capitalized on this with a wrister from Erik Karlsson at the blue line. New Jersey ended the fragmented period down 2-1.
Second Period
The Devils still looked shaky to start the second period, but they finally started to get their legs under them. Matt Benning took an interference call a few minutes in, allowing for a New Jersey powerplay. They didn’t score, but they looked good, creating pressure from the second unit.
The Devils turned things around in the second half of the period, getting good chances in the offensive zone including a ‘grade-A’ chance from Tomas Tatar in front of the net. Despite their efforts, New Jersey couldn’t break through. No goals were scored in the frame and the teams went into the second intermission at 2-1.
Third Period
The Devils came out flying once again in the third period. Nico Hischier ambushed Sharks’ goalie James Reimer ten seconds into the third period with a one-timer in front of the net off a slick feed from Ondrej Palat. With the game tied at two, the Devils looked to take control and slam the door on the bottom-feeding Sharks.
Nick Bonino had other ideas, playing a Mikey Eyssimont rebound and spinning it past Vitek Vanecek to give San Jose a 3-2 lead. The goal came just as a Sharks powerplay ended, caused yet again by a too-many-men call on New Jersey.
The Devils played with desperation looking to secure a fifth-consecutive win, but they couldn’t break through. Head coach Lindy Ruff pulled Vanecek with just over a minute to play to give the Devils an extra attacker. They got into the offensive zone, creating heavy pressure with under 20 seconds to play. Jack Hughes finally found a lane, sniping it off Erik Karlsson’s stick and into the back of the net with just ten seconds to play. With that, a shocked Sharks team would be forced to play overtime.
Overtime & Shootout
The overtime period had everything a fan could want, except for a goal of course. The teams went back and forth with great chances, but nobody could put one through. Vitek Vaneck made a great save on Eyssimont, who was on an odd-man rush. Tomas Tatar, who turned the puck over to create the two-on-one, was apparently heated, throwing down with Eyssimont after the play and throwing him to the ice. Both players got unsportsmanlike conduct calls but the game continued at three-on-three.
At the other end, Reimer made a fantastic toe-save on Jack Hughes under all kinds of pressure.
The Devils sent Tomas Tatar to take the first opportunity of the shootout, and he capitalized with a simple wrister past Reimer. With the game on the line, Vitek Vanecek made a fantastic save on Alexander Barabarov to secure a 4-3 shootout win for New Jersey.
Results
The Devils should have easily skated past a dejected San Jose, but they had to play hard to the end. They got bailed out with a clutch goal from Jack Hughes and marvelous stops by Vanecek. The past two games haven’t been the Devils’ best, but they won both, which is exactly what good teams do. A win is a win as they say, and that win was the Devils’ fifth straight.
The Devils now have 61 points in the standings, one point behind the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes. The Sharks, on the other hand, have just 35 points, good for seventh in the Pacific Division.
Game Notes
Some Penalty Kill Struggles
The Devils essentially let up two power play goals yesterday afternoon. The word essentially is being used as one came right after a penalty expired but before Jack Hughes could exit the box.
Overall, the penalty kill has been very, very good this season. Though, against the Sharks, it struggled a tad. Something to keep an eye on going forward.
Controlling Play
The Devils haven’t controlled the pace of play like they usually do these past two games. Over this span, the Devils have an expected goals-for percentage under 50, meaning their opponents have controlled possession. This is something that has very often not happened this season.
Fortunately, the Devils have lucked out with clutch goals and poor opposing goaltending, but this is a trend the Devils will want to reverse sooner rather than later.
Up Next
The Devils will play the Kraken on Thursday at 10:00 PM EST.