The New Jersey Devils (44-17-6) fell 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning (40-22-6) on Tuesday. The loss snapped a three-game win streak for New Jersey. The Devils led early, but could not solve Andrei Vasilevskiy after that and struggled with defensive zone coverage and turnovers.
Coupled with Carolina’s win on Tuesday, the Devils are now two points back of the Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division.
Game Summary
First Period
Although chances were fairly even in the opening few minutes, it was the Devils who struck first. Damon Severson buried a rebound from a sharp angle off a Timo Meier wrister from the high slot just seven minutes in.
After the goal, the Devils completely took control of the game. Minutes later, Dougie Hamilton rang one of the post and two minutes later, a seeing-eye shot from Ryan Graves beat Vasilevskiy with eight and half minutes to play in the frame.
However, John Cooper challenged for goalie interference, and the goal was called back. Tomas Tatar was lightly engaged with Brayden Point and bumped Vasilevskiy’s blocker, resulting in the overturn.
With the score still 1-0, the Devils continued to surge. John Marino then hit the post from the point before Jack Hughes drew a trip, giving New Jersey the first power play of the night with just over four minutes to go in the first.
Unfortunately, for the Devils, it was the Lightning that took advantage of that power play. Brandon Hagel led a two-on-one with Anthony Cirelli and found Cirelli in tight who roofed a backhander past Vitek Vanecek, tying the game at 1 with 3:47 to play in the period.
Tampa Bay gained momentum after the goal, killing off the rest of the man advantage and eventually, getting to a power play of their own. The Devils killed it off and went to the dressing room tied at one.
In the first, shots were 12-10 in favor of the Lightning. The Devils had a 44.83 corsi-for percentage (CF%) at five-on-five, but a phenomenal 70.16 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%).
Second Period
The second period began at a slower, more methodical pace with chances at a premium. However, like in the first period, the Devils found a rhythm first. New Jersey created a flurry of chances about seven minutes into the second, with the best chance falling to Jesper Boqvist who fired an Ondrej Palat rebound inches wide.
The Devils were not able to make those chances count on the scoreboard, though. To make matters worse for New Jersey, Tampa Bay took full advantage of theirs.
After John Marino slipped trying to pressure a puck at the offensive blue line, Brandon Hagel led another two-on-one. This time, he stopped up and fired a wrist shot between the body and arm of Vanecek. The Lightning took a 2-1 lead on their first shot of the period nearly nine minutes into the second frame.
After the Hagel goal, Tampa Bay began to frustrate the Devils. Five minutes after getting the lead, the Lightning doubled it after a Dougie Hamilton and Jesper Bratt miscommunication led to a turnover at the offensive blue line. This time, Hagel found a trailing Alex Killorn who was all alone in the slot. He beat Vanecek short side, giving Tampa a 3-1 lead.
Then, at the very end of the period, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point played a little give-and-go from the blue line that resulted in Kucherov beating the buzzer with under a second to play in the period. With the goal, the Lightning took a 4-1 lead into the third.
In the second period, both teams had seven shots. The Devils had a 60.61CF% and a 70.31 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
To start the third, Miles Wood did not return to the Devils bench. After the game, Lindy Ruff did not make a comment on his status, per Amanda Stein.
Just 20 seconds into the period, the Devils went to the penalty kill for the second time after Ryan Graves went off for tripping. The Devils killed off the penalty, although a deflected Kucherov shot rattled the crossbar.
New Jersey still could not create much against a Tampa Bay defense that was clamping down on chances. Vitek Vanecek had to deny Corey Perry on a two-on-one to keep the deficit at three. He then robbed Perry again moments later with a sprawling stick save on the doorstep.
The best chance of the period for the Devils came when they hit the crossbar with a deflected point shot. It was that kind of night for the Devils, who hit three posts in the loss. New Jersey could not trouble Vasilevskiy beyond that, and Tampa Bay cruised to a 4-1 win.
In the third, shots were 11-6 in favor of Tampa, who had a 50 CF% and a 60.76 xGF% at five-on-five.
Wrap-Up
The Devils struggled to solve Andrei Vasilevskiy most of the night, only beating the former Vezina winner once. Damon Severson got the goal with Timo Meier and Jack Hughes collecting the assists.
In net, it was a tough night for Vitek Vanecek. After a 32-save shutout on Sunday, the 27-year-old netminder stopped 26 of 30 shots, allowing 2.12 goals above expected. In the second period, Tampa Bay beat Vanecek three times on seven shots, scoring 2.64 goals above expected in the period.
Andrei Vasilevskiy had a strong game in goal. He stopped 22 of 23 shots faced and saved 1.42 goals above expected to go with his assist.
For the game, shots were 30-23 in Tampa’s favor, although the Devils had a 52.00 CF% and a 59.72 xGF% at five-on-five.
Game Notes
Game of Efficiency
This loss will sting for New Jersey, who had the better of the play through two periods. In each of the first two periods, the Devils had over 70% of the expected goals at five-on-five. However, the Devils lost those two periods 4-1 on the scoreboard. The second period in particular stands out with Tampa Bay outscoring New Jersey 3-0 despite having only a 29.69 xGF%.
In particular, the importance of keeping teams to the outside of the zone was on full display tonight. While the Devils hit three posts and had another goal chalked off for goalie interference, all those shots came from outside the dots or from the point. While the Devils did a good job getting traffic in front of Vasilevskiy, those chances would be considered low-to-mid danger.
Compare that to Tampa Bay who scored four goals, all on high or mid-danger chances. The Devils had some high-danger chances of their own, but Tampa did a good job keeping most of NJ’s looks to the outside. Through the first two periods, scoring chances were 17-10 in favor of NJ at five-on-five, but high-danger chances were only 8-6. Then, leading by three, Tampa shut the game down in the third.
What makes this especially interesting is how it contrasts to the 3-0 win over Carolina on Sunday. In that contest, Carolina had a 59-36 edge in shot attempts, a narrow 22-21 lead in scoring chances, but it was New Jersey holding a commanding 11-6 advantage in high-danger chances.
Of course, the importance of getting to the slot is nothing new in hockey, but seeing this play out in different ways against playoff-caliber and playoff-tested opponents in back-to-back games is a valuable lesson and experience for this young Devils team, especially with the playoffs on the horizon.
Rough Night for Graves-Marino Pairing
For a game that the Devils controlled for large stretches, the Ryan Graves and John Marino duo struggled mightily. At five-on-five, the duo both finished below a 20.00 xGF%. No other Devils’ defenseman finished below a 50.00 xGF%.
On top of that, the duo also had the two lowest scoring chances for percentage at 20% and 12.5%, respectively. Neither player was on the ice for a high-danger chance for at five-on-five. Marino’s slip in the second period also directly led to a Tampa Bay goal. In the third period, the pairing was split up by Lindy Ruff.
All year, the Devils have relied on the Graves-Marino pairing as the “shutdown” pairing of the defense corps. Marino has been especially reliable in his first season in New Jersey. If Ruff reunites the pair, they will need to bounce back Thursday against this same Lightning team to keep Tampa’s big names off the scoresheet.
Another Strong Night from the Third Line
While Graves and Marino struggled, the Devils third line of Ondrej Palat, Erik Haula, and Jesper Boqvist had a strong night at five-on-five. The trio had an excellent 76.73 xGF%, the highest among Devils’ forward line combinations to play at least four minutes at five-on-five. Palat, Haula, and Boqvist also had a 5-2 advantage in high danger chances while on the ice.
This continues a very encouraging trend for the trio. In 11 games since forming a line, Palat, Haula, and Boqvist have dominated their opposition to the tune of a 73.54 xGF% and a 25-7 edge in high-danger chances at five-on-five. Finding such consistent success from a bottom-six line is something the Devils lacked during rough patches in December and January and makes them much more dangerous as the playoffs rapidly approach.
What’s Next
The Devils face the Lightning again on Thursday night. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at the Prudential Center. MSGSN will have coverage of the game.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.