The New Jersey Devils entered Tuesday night with some defensive issues. None of those were solved in an 8-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Prudential Center.

Lightning forward Brandon Hagel scored a natural hat trick in the second period and Victor Hedman had a pair of goals for the Lightning (4-2-0). The Devils allowed five unanswered goals in the second but were able to fight back a bit in the third.

Unfortunately, defensive lapses, some bad puck luck, and a questionable goaltender interference call plagued the Devils (5-3-1) in their 8-5 loss. Timo Meier scored twice while Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists in the loss.

Game Summary

First Period

The first period was the most normal out of the three in this contest. The one that looked most like a real hockey game.

Hughes would open the scoring for the Devils with a goal at 11:02 of the period. Jesper Bratt was able to split the defenders and spring Hughes for a breakaway. He deked backup goalie Jonas Johansson for his second goal of the season.

Lightning center Brayden Point evened the score shortly after with a power-play goal at 14:09 of the first from Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov.

Second Period

This is where things started to get wild.

In the first minute of the second, Meier scored off a great no-look backhand pass from Hughes to give the Devils a 2-1 lead. After that, it was all Lightning the rest of the period.

Hedman would get his first goal at 7:34 of the period before Hagel scored three straight goals for his hat trick. Hedman would complete the scoring for Tampa Bay in the second period with his second goal of the game.

The Devils showed a bit more push with 15 shots on goal in the second but the Lightning had a 30-22 advantage overall in shots.

It was a rough period for goaltender Jake Allen, who got his third start of the season. Allen likely wanted a few goals back in the game overall but the Devils’ defense, again, was less than stellar. The pairing of Dougie Hamilton and Brenden Dillon got eaten up for most of the game. That pair had a miserable second period, along with the third line.

Third Period

Things got a bit interesting in the third period with the Devils pushing to tie the game. New Jersey would get goals from Nathan Bastian and Meier to pull within 6-4.

With all the momentum in the world, a questionable call is what put the Devils away. Forward Dawson Mercer had the puck and was driving to the net with Hedman on his back. Mercer made a move toward the crease and ran into Johansson. Hedman gave Mercer a push and Mercer collided with the Lightning goalie.

As a result, the referees called goaltender interference on Mercer and Jake Guentzel immediately scored on the ensuing power play. The Lightning took a 7-4 lead and stole momentum back from the Devils.

The next goal only made things worse. With the Devils toward the end of a power play, Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser took a faceoff win and launch what appeared to be a puck down the board. Instead of it going behind the net, it ricocheted off the board and into the net with Allen out looking to play the puck. It was unfortunate and put the game out of reach for New Jersey at that point 8-4.

The Devils would get another goal back on a power-play score from Stefan Noesen to make it 8-5.

Game Notes

Devils Defense Struggles Again

New Jersey desperately needs Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes back in the lineup. Daniil Misyul made his NHL debut in place of Seamus Casey, who was sent to the AHL. Misyul didn’t make much of an impact in 12:23 of ice time. Second-year defenseman Simon Nemec continues to struggle and could be the odd-man out once Pesce and Hughes are ready to return.

You’d think once Pesce and/or Hughes are back, that’ll be the end of the Dillon/Hamilton defense pairing. After a really strong start to the season, that duo has struggled in recent games.

Bad Night for the Third Line

It was a very rough night for Paul Cotter, Erik Haula and Noesen. The line was minus-three for the game and was on the ice for most of the second-period woes. A saved opportunity here and there in the second and that bad bounce off the boards ended up being the difference. It’s not anything to be concerned about but this felt like a spot where the Devils needed that line to stabilize things.

What’s Next?

The Devils will look to get back in the win column against the Detroit Red Wings at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.