Saturday, the New Jersey Devils lost their first game of the season, 6-0, on the road against the New York Islanders. Nico Daws struggled in his season debut as the Devils fell to 1-1-0.

Recap

Period One

The Devils started off on the front foot against the Islanders, recording the first four shots of the game. However, after that it was almost all New York. Nico Daws made a couple of great stops on the penalty kill against Brayden Schenn and on the power play against Casey Cizikas. Ilya Sorokin made a handful of solid stops as well to keep the game scoreless. Both teams were locked at zero after one period of play.

Period Two

New Jersey had a few good chances on the power play to start period number two, but it was all downhill from there. Simon Holmstrom whacked a puck past Daws on a two-on-one to make it 1-0. Less than two minutes later, Daws let up a bad rebound leading to an empty net goal for Schenn. In the back-half of the period, the Islanders struck again. Matthew Schaefer made an amazing keep at the blue line while on the power play, and found a wipe open Bo Horvat who made it 3-0. While the Devils pushed hard in the final minutes, Ilya Sorokin locked it down. The Islanders led 3-0 after two periods.

Period Three

The third period looked good until a power play for the Devils halfway through. A great kill by the Islanders sprung momentum back in their favor. In the final minutes of the game, they added on two more. Victor Eklund went near side and in on Daws for his first in the NHL, and less than a minute later former Devil Ondrej Palat scored to make it 5-0. With under 90 seconds to go, Cizikas scored a shorthanded goal to make it 6-0. That was the final score on Long Island.

Game Notes

Goaltending Discrepancy

The Devils and Islanders played a fairly even game in terms of chances, the six goal difference was goaltending. Nico Daws in his first game of the season certainly didn’t impress, allowing -2.26 goals saved above expected (GSAx). On the other side of the ice, Ilya Sorokin saved 3.64 GSAx.

The Devils have been outscored 17-1 their last three games on Long Island. As simple as it sounds, If they want to break their streak there they need to score on their chances and have a goalie who doesn’t allow multiple goals above expected.

Power Play Problem

Through two games this season, the Devils’ power play has been disappointing to say the least. They’re 0-for-9 to start the year, holding just a 75.53 expected goals percentage (xG%) which ranks 29th in the NHL. Expect to see changes going into Tuesday’s game.

What’s Next

The Devils next game will be back at the rock this Tuesday against the Utah Mammoth. Puck Drop is set for 7:00 pm ET.