Tuesday, the New Jersey Devils (1-2-0) fell to the Utah Mammoth 5-3 for their second straight loss.
Recap
First Period
It was a less-than-ideal start for the Devils as they found themselves shorthanded just 10 seconds into the game. Utah’s power play, which was 6-for-8 coming into the game, didn’t take long to put them on the board first. Mikhail Sergachev set up Mammoth captain Clayton Keller, who blasted his first of the season by Devils goalie Jake Allen. The power-play goal put the Mammoth on top just 1:57 into the game.
The Devils soon got a power play of their own, however, and when the man advantage turned into a two-man advantage, the Devils quickly pounced. Jack Hughes threw a puck on net, and Luke Evangelista redirected it by Mammoth goalie Karel Vejmelka. Evangelista’s first with New Jersey tied things up before the end of the first period.
Second Period
Once again, the Mammoth struck quickly to begin the period. Jake Allen made a couple of nice saves on Mikhail Sergachev and Anders Lee before defenseman MacKenzie Weegar crashed the crease and buried the loose puck. The early second-period goal gave Utah a 2-1 lead.
Also similar to period number one, it was the newest Devil who tied the game for New Jersey. Timo Meier threw a puck toward the goal, and Evangelista got another stick on the puck as he once again tied the game. His second of the game made it 2-2.
Utah soon went back to the power play, and their dangerous unit struck again. Nick Schmaltz got the puck at the doorstep and roofed it by Jake Allen to give Utah its third lead of the night.
They weren’t done, though. A counterattack by the Mammoth led to a loose puck sitting in the crease, which was poked in by Lawson Crouse. His first goal of the season came with under a minute left in the period and gave Utah a 4-2 lead heading into the break.
Third Period
The Devils were pushing to begin the period, and eventually, with about 10 minutes left, they cashed in. Dougie Hamilton’s shot got blocked, but Jesper Boqvist was right there to backhand it by the out-of-position Vejmelka. His first goal back with the Devils made it 4-3 Utah.
The Devils pushed for the equalizer, but their aggressive attack eventually led to a mistake. A neutral-zone turnover led to Nick Schmaltz driving toward the goal. He passed it across to Vincent Trocheck, who buried it by Allen. The former Ranger’s first goal with his new team put the finishing touch on a Devils defeat.
Takeaways
Luke Evangelista
Devils fans were excited about the late-offseason acquisition of Luke Evangelista, and so far, he’s been more than advertised. Evangelista registered his first two goals as a Devil Tuesday and was second on the team with a 69.2 Corsi-for percentage. The Devils hope to see a lot more of this from Evangelista for years to come.
Goaltending
After an awful showing from Nico Daws Saturday night, New Jersey hoped to get some stability from veteran Jake Allen. Instead, the 36-year-old goalie allowed five goals on 36 shots while posting a -0.78 goals saved above expected. With the two goalies’ struggles to begin the year, you have to think they will give David Rittich or Rémi Poirier a shot.
What’s Next
The Devils will have the rest of the week off before they take on the Canucks on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 3:30 pm ET at the Prudential Center.