Monday night, the New Jersey Devils lost against the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in the shootout. This came after surrendering a goal in the final 40 seconds of regulation. The team falls to 37-28-7 on the season.
Recap
Period One
The Devils had a hot start to the game, but couldn’t score on Thatcher Demko in his return after a nearly two-month long absence. The Canucks then began to press and capitalized, with Pius Suter scoring a goal from the high slot to make it 1-0 Vancouver. The Devils kept things to the outside for the remainder of the period, but couldn’t grab any great chances themselves.
Period Two
The Devils would have a much better second period than the first, drawing two penalties early on. The team would eventually score on one of them, with Timo Meier banging home a rebound in front to tie the game up at one. After a few good chances on each side including Brendan Dillon missing an open net and Tyler Myers hitting the post, the period would wrap up tied at one a piece.
Period Three
The third period was fairly evenly played, but eventually the Devils got through. After a Dillon shot missed the net on an odd-man rush, the puck perfectly hit off the backboard to Meier who buried his second goal of the game. Just 45 seconds later, however, the Canucks tied it as a shot from Janathan Lekkerimaki went off the post, hit off the back of Jacob Markstrom, and went in.
The Devils had a nice response to this just minutes later with Erik Haula cleaning up a rebound in front of the net to put New Jersey up 3-2. That wouldn’t last, as in the final 40 seconds of play, another shot would hit off the post, off the back of Markstrom, and end up in the net. And so, the two teams were tied 3-3 after three periods of play.
Overtime and Shootout
The Devils and Canucks exchanged some nice chances in overtime, with the best of them coming from Paul Cotter who was robbed by Thatcher Demko on a cross-ice pass from Jesper Bratt. Things would go into the shootout after Lekkerimaki missed a great chance in the dying seconds.
In the shootout, Jake DeBrusk scored in the opening round with Jesper Bratt tying things up a round later. Things would be even after three rounds, but following a Luke Hughes miss, Lekkerimaki made up for his mistake in overtime to win it for Vancouver. Another frustrating defeat for the Devils as they lost 4-3.
Game Notes
Home Shootout Woes
March 27, 2022. That was the last time the Devils won a shootout on home ice. Since then, the Devils have played in six shootouts at home, including Monday night’s. In those six shootouts the Devils are 0-6.
They also have a shooting percentage (SH%) of 16.7 and save percentage (SV%) of .375. If you’re wondering how bad that is compared to the rest of the league, the NHL average in that span is a 31.9 SH% and .681 SV%.
What’s even more confusing is that the team isn’t this bad on the road. They have a 3-3 record over the past three years in the shootout with a .750 SV% and 22.7 SH%. Obviously, shootouts aren’t the most common thing anymore, but being able to win them on home ice would sure be nice.
Markstrom Was Better
Jacob Markstrom wasn’t spectacular in Monday night’s game, but he was certainly better. For the first time since his first game back from injury, the Swedish netminder had a positive goals saved above expected (GSAx). Even if he barely had a positive GSAx of only 0.38, it’s better than a negative number.
Hopefully, he can build on this performance and regain his form down the stretch.
What’s Next
The Devils hit the road for their next contest on Wednesday as they travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. The game is nationally televised on TNT and is set for a 7:30 pm ET.