The New Jersey Devils bounced back in a big way. They stormed into Tampa Bay and earned a 5-3 victory Saturday night. The victory gave the team their first in 2025 against an extremely stout opponent.
Game Recap
First Period
If you were looking for a good response game, you got that in the first period. It was all Devils right from puck drop. New Jersey scored three goals in just over five minutes.
It started with Timo Meier, who punched home a rebound after a great effort by the captain Nico Hischier going towards the goal. Two minutes later, Connor Brown scored his first goal as a Devil after a nifty cross ice pass by Arseny Gritsyuk found his stick. After getting the assist on the first goal, Hischier scored a goal of his own. A Luke Hughes shot corralled behind the net and Hischier pounced on the loose puck and made the game 3-0.
There was very little work for Jacob Markstrom in this period and the Devils took a commanding lead into the second period.
This was as dominant of a period as you could ask for. The Devils smothered the Lightning, outshooting them 16-4. In 14:21 of five-on-five play, the Devils out-attempted the Lightning 20-8 and dominated the expected goals share. The Devils didn’t give an inch and the results reflected that.
Second Period
The second period went much differently than the first period. This period was all Lightning, as they mounted a comeback to pull themselves into this game.
At the 7:31 mark of the period, Yanni Gourde put the Lightning on the board. Tampa Bay skated into the Devils zone off an odd-man rush and Brayden Point fed Gourde a pass and he went top shelf over Markstrom. With the deficits cut to two, the Lightning kept to the attack. It took until 2:30 minutes left in the period, but a Ryan McDonagh blast found its way past Markstrom to make it 3-2. A big Devils’ lead turned into a much closer game going into the third period.
The second period was more evenly played. The shot attempts were 15-14 in favor of the Devils, but the Lightning were the ones to capitalize.
Third Period
The Devils needed a response period and they got it in the third. Much like the first period, the Devils pounced on the Lightning and grabbed the two points by game’s end.
Just under five minutes into the period, Jesper Bratt capitalized short-handed to extend the Devils’ lead. He intercepted a cross-ice pass and skated in alone on a breakaway to extend the lead to two goals.
With the Lightning continuing to climb back, the Devils cemented their victory four minutes later. Connor Brown scored his second goal of the game on another assist by Gristyuk. Raddysh would score a goal for the Lightning, but a strong third period gave the Devils a 5-3 victory.
Another period that was more evenly played, but the Devils had the edge in terms of finishing ability. The margins were even in shot attempts, scoring chances, and shots on goal.
Wrap Up
This was an enormous win for the Devils. Connor Brown scored his first two goals as a Devil and Arseny Gritsyuk had his first multi-point game in the NHL. Five different Devils skaters had multi-point games and New Jersey is now 1-1-0 on the season.
Game Notes
- The line of Arseny Gritsyuk, Cody Glass, and Connor Brown played a much better game Saturday night. When on the ice, they out-attempted the opposition 9-3, good for a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 75.00. The trio combined for two goals and four points. Great to see the depth shine through.
- Simon Nemec had a strong impact game when he was on the ice. Shot attempts were in the team’s favor (22-8) as well as the scoring chances (5-1). He had the highest CF% on the team (73.33). He’s a guy you want to see impact the game and his on ice impacts were noticeable.
What’s Next?
The Devils take the ice Monday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road at 7:00 pm ET.