The New Jersey Devils (38-15-5) rebounded from their loss against the Montreal Canadiens last night. In thrilling fashion, the Devils defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime. They were down 2-0 and down 3-2 with under a minute left, but still found a way.
Combined, the Devils have a record of 14-0-1 against the Pacific Division this season. A huge victory and two points for New Jersey as they extend their cushion over their cross-town rival New York Rangers.
Game Summary
First Period
The first period was all Los Angeles on the scoreboard. After New Jersey hit the post in the start of the sequence, Sean Durzi went to work. He ripped a pass down the middle to Anze Kopitar who slid the puck five-hole.
The bleeding continued. After a bad turnover by New Jersey, Kevin Fiala skated in two-on-one and a rebounded shot found Viktor Arvidsson for the goal.
The horn would sound and the Devils found themselves down 2-0. It was not for a lack of effort as the Devils finished the period with 1.46 expected goals.
Second Period
This period was a tighter contested. The lone goal scored belonged to New Jersey. After a hardaworking forecheck by Dawson Mercer, Tomas Tatar roofed a backhanded shot past Phoenix Copley. As the horn sounded the Devils are down by one headed for the third period.
Third Period
This period had a plethora of goals scored. The Devils picked up where they left off. After a Kevin Bahl dump-in, Tomas Tatar slid the puck to Dawson Mercer who scored the tying goal. Then, with around four minutes left, a great passing sequence, Sean Durzi sniped a shot past Vitek Vanecek.
The comeback warriors tied the game. Jack Hughes three a shot on net that got tipped by Nico Hischier. The tying goal was scored with 39 seconds left. Both teams were headed for overtime.
Overtime
The Devils completed the comeback. After a beautiful passing sequence, Dawson Mercer punched home the goal and the Devils won the game 4-3.
Wrap Up
It was a big-time response by the Devils, who were frustrated in their last contest against Montreal. Tomas Tatar (one goal, one assist), Dawson Mercer (two goals, one assist), and Dougie Hamilton (two assists) each had multi-point games. Vitek Vanecek secured the victory. Huge bounce-back win for the Devils.
Game Notes
- Dawson Mercer is scorching hot. He has goals in five-straight games and had his third multi-point game in his last four games.
- The Devils got rewarded for their dominant efforts. They had an expected goals-for percentage of 61.51 a a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 56.32. Just an all-around great effort by the Devils.
- The Erik Haula line dominated. Granted they did not record a goal, but they were effective. With them on the ice, they out-attempted Los Angeles 13-1 and had a CF% of 92.86. They also didn’t allow a single shot on net. Just a tremendous performance.
What’s Next?
The final game of the homestand is Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers at 7:00 P.M. ET.