After a tough loss to the Canucks on Sunday, the New Jersey Devils (19-14-1) beat the Vegas Golden Knights (16-6-10) 2-1 in a thrilling matchup that went to a shootout very late Wednesday night.
First Period
The Devils didn’t have much of a chance to establish themselves in the opening minutes as Jonas Siegenthaler went to the box for hooking seconds into the game. New Jersey’s penalty kill unit bucked their recent trend, however, and stymied the Golden Knights’ man advantage. They held Vegas shotless, while Cody Glass punctuated the kill with an aggressive forecheck.
New Jersey gained momentum after the kill, piling on the pressure in the offensive zone shift after shift. They got their first high-danger chance five minutes in, but Connor Brown airmailed the net-front opportunity.
Vegas didn’t let many high-danger chances through in the first half of the period, breaking up passes and executing poke checks to keep the Devils at bay. They went the other way on a two-on-one rush, but Dougie Hamilton broke up the play to keep the game tied. The Golden Knights quickly got back on the rush with half the period gone, this time forcing goaltender Jake Allen to get across and make a great glove save.
The Devils went back on the offensive after those opportunities, and quickly got their first power play of the night as Jeremy Lauzon rammed Stefan Noesen hard into the boards. Noesen got some attention at the bench, but went back out on the first unit. They came out aggressive with a couple of dangerous shots from Nico Hischier, but Carter Hart was equal to the task. Noesen didn’t look shaken up at all when he made a beautiful behind-the-back pass to Ondrej Palat, who nearly scored on a flailing Carter Hart. Vegas hung on for dear life but managed to kill off the remainder of the penalty.
The Golden Knights made a late push in the Devils’ zone, but were stopped by the horn. The game would remain scoreless going into the first intermission. The Devils had the edge at five-on-five in the first period, notching a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 52 and an expected goal percentage (xG%) of 56.19 while earning 60% of the high-danger chances. The goalies were the stars of the game in the first period, though, earning a combined 1.89 goals saved above expected (GSAx)
Second Period
Vegas and New Jersey went back and forth to start the period with great looks at both ends of the ice. Mark Stone nearly capitalized on a three-man rush, and his shot sparked a vigorous Vegas offensive zone shift. Nico Hischier came back the other way with a quality shot, and Ondrej Palat just missed on burying the rebound.
Something had to give, and it finally did when Connor Brown broke the ice with a goal. He pounced on a turnover from Noah Hanifin deep in Vegas’s zone, driving in past the net, turning, and shooting the puck between Hart’s left pad and the post for the goal.
The Devils got their second power play chance of the night when Mitch Marner got called for tripping. However, Paul Cotter got himself involved physically late in the power play, and it got him cross-checked a couple of times. He responded after the play and got called for roughing to put Vegas on the power play. The Devils executed another effective kill, and almost got themselves a two-goal lead when Nico Hischier broke free. He lofted the shot over the net, however, keeping the game at 1-0 going into the second intermission.
It was a fast-paced, evenly-played second period at five-on-five. The Devils earned a CF% of 50, but got high-quality shots to earn an xG% of 60.22 at five-on-five.
Third Period
Vegas came out in the third period with all the momentum, getting solid offensive zone time and forcing Jake Allen to be perfect. Allen made a flurry of saves halfway through the period as Tomas Hertl and Brandon Saad nearly got past the locked-in Allen.
Ben Hutton drew a tripping call on Juho Lammikko late in the game to give Vegas one last real chance to tie it up, and they didn’t miss. The Devils squandered a few opportunities to clear the puck. Mark Stone made the Devils pay for their mistakes, getting in behind the defense and passing it to Pavel Dorofeyev, who potted it to tie the game at one goal apiece.
The Devils played a good period despite allowing the tying goal, earning a 61.9 CF% and a 54.43 xG% at five-on-five.
Overtime
Vegas got the all-important first possession to start the extra period and put the Devils on the defensive. Ivan Barbashev went in all alone on Allen, but once again the Devils’ netminder came up tall as he had done all night long.
Mark Stone made a smart play in the neutral zone to draw a hooking penalty on Dawson Mercer, giving Vegas a four-on-three power play in the sudden-death frame. The Golden Knights almost ended it multiple times as they hemmed the Devils in, with Marner and Stone combining for three shots that hit the post. This game would require a shootout after all.
Shootout
Paul Cotter had the first chance of the shootout, but he mishandled the puck and overshot the net on his approach. Jake Allen responded by making a great read to save Pavel Dorofeyev’s shot.
Jesper Bratt executed a gorgeous shot on the Devils’ second chance, going from his forehand to his backhand in one fluid motion and tucking it just underneath the crossbar for a goal. Mark Stone tried a similar move to Dorofeyev, and Allen was not fooled.
Dougie Hamilton couldn’t fool Hart by slowing down the pace on his shot, giving Mitch Marner a chance to keep the shootout going. Marner appeared to score, but the refs immediately waved it off because the puck had actually deflected in off the rebound from Allen’s save. The Devils would earn the 2-1 win by the skin of their teeth.
Results
Wednesday night was a much-needed win for New Jersey, and not just because it earned them two points. Free-falling in the wake of injuries and underperformance, the Devils played tough, competitive hockey against one of the best teams in the league. They didn’t dominate Vegas, but they went punch-for-punch with them. They certainly didn’t finish all their high-danger chances, but strong play from Jake Allen kept them alive and gave them momentum. The Devils will breathe a sigh of relief after walking into a tough environment at T-Mobile Arena.
Game Notes
- The goalies were two of the three stars of last night. Jake Allen stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced, good for a .973 save percentage (SV%) and 3.75 goals saved above expected (GSAx). Crucially, he was perfect in the shootout, stopping Vegas in their tracks. Carter Hart wasn’t too bad himself, saving 32 of the 33 shots he faced for a .970 SV% and 2.63 GSAx.
- Connor Brown redeemed himself after airmailing a prime scoring chance in the first period, scoring the Devils’ only regulation goal and adding three shots on goal.
- Despite not appearing on the scoresheet, Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat, and Luke Hughes all played well last night, notching five, two, and four shots on goal, respectively.
Up Next
The Devils will continue this West Coast swing against the Utah Mammoth on Friday at 9:00 pm ET.