Overview
It was all smiles on Sunday afternoon. After losing to their cross-town rivals Friday night, the New Jersey Devils earned their way back in the win column. A hard-fought effort resulted in the Devils defeating the St. Louis Blues for the second time in over a month. The Devils would need overtime but won the game 3-2.
Game Summary
First Period
A very fast paced first period With the goaltenders seeing plenty of action. The period saw New Jersey outshoot St. Louis, 15-12. After the barrage of shots, it was the Devils who took the lead. After a big save by Nico Daws, the Devils took to the attack. Nico Hischier slide a pass to Jesper Bratt, who crossed through the slot drawing defenders and he found an open Ty Smith who scored his second of the year.
The Blues almost tied the game in the final seconds of the period, but time would expire. The Devils would head to the locker room up 1-0.
Second Period
The Devils picked up where they left off in period one — skating fast and pushing the games pace. Midway through the second period, the Devils would extended their lead. A beautiful passing play by Jack Hughes, resulted in the rookie, Dawson Mercer, putting the Devils up 2-0.
The Devils would continue to dominate the second period and take that same 2-0 lead to the third and final period.
Third Period
The third period was all St. Louis. Two minutes into the third period, the St. Louis Blues cut the deficit to one goal. A rush generated by Vladamir Tarasenko found defensemen Torey Krug for the goal. Moments later the Blues tied the game. Young gun Jordan Kyrou scored his 22nd goal of the season off a cross-ice pass by Brayden Schenn.
No more goals would be scored, and both teams would head to overtime.
Overtime
After a comeback in the third period by the Blues, the Devils would emerge victorious. A backhanded pass to Dougie Hamilton by Pavel Zacha would seal the victory. Hamilton roofed one top-shelf passed Ville Husso.
Game Notes
- The second period was one of the best second periods the Devils have played all season. They held the Blues to one shot on goal and they finished the second period with a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 60.00.
- When it came to special teams play, the Blues got the upper-hand. The Devils went 0/5 on the power play. Overall, the Blues do have the fifth-best penalty kill across the league with 84.2% success rate.
- Jack Hughes had a great game. Hughes would finish with two assist and had a CF% of 73.90. After being held pointless in the last game, he found no trouble getting back on the scoresheet earlier this afternoon.
What’s Next?
The Devils return to action Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche. Puck drop is at 7:00 PM ET. The game can be found on MSG+.
Statistics via Natural Stat Trick.