The New Jersey Devils (37-14-5) defeated the Winnipeg Jets (34-21-1) 4-2 last night at the Prudential Center. It was an exhilarating win for New Jersey, their second in as many days. They were behind for much of the night, but played well from start to finish and eventually overcame the strong Winnipeg defense.
First Period
The Devils came out of the gate strong in the first. They controlled most of the possession and outshot Winnipeg 5-1 over the first six shots. The Devils got a powerplay opportunity midway through the period on a Brenden Dillon penalty, but nothing came of the man advantage. The Jets struck first with a goal from Cole Perfetti, who pounced on a prime rebound from MacKenzie Blackwood.
The Devils didn’t wait to respond, however, scoring the tying goal just seconds later. Dawson Mercer was credited with the goal, which he shot at a sharp angle past Connor Hellebuyck. At first, it appeared to go off Tomas Tatar, but upon further review, the goal was given to Mercer.
Less than two minutes later, however, the Jets retook the lead with a blast from Neal Pionk at the blue line. This one was Blackwood’s fault, he only had one Jet screening him and there was no deflection. It was definitely a goal he would want back.
Despite being down 2-1 going into the first intermission, the Devils played well. They controlled the pace of play with a 59.26 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 53.58 expected goal percentage (xG%).
Second Period
Nobody scored in the second period, but the Devils were threatening at every turn. Brenden Smith took a tripping penalty early in the period, but New Jersey was able to kill it off.
At one frustrating point, Jack Hughes had a sure tap-in goal in the crease but somehow hit the iron on the shot. At another point, Jesper Bratt was alone on a breakaway but hit the crossbar. Mark Scheifele had a breakaway of his own, but Blackwood made a great kick save, allowing him to settle in for the rest of the game.
The Devils once again played well, scoring a 54.55 CF% and a 55.75 xG%.
Third Period
Down 2-1 going into the third, the Devils had all the momentum, but they needed a spark if they were going to find the tying and winning goals. They got just that five minutes into the period. Deep in Winnipeg’s zone, John Marino turned the puck over to the Jets, but Erik Haula made a heads-up play to retake the puck and feed it to a wide-open Fabian Zetterlund in the slot, who blasted it off the post and in.
A minute later, Michael McLeod made a great pass to Miles Wood up close, who scored a much-needed goal to give the Devils a one-goal lead. A few minutes later, the Devils got a powerplay opportunity off a cross-checking minor from Morgan Barron, but the Jets killed it off and even got the momentum back after he left the box.
The Devils held on to a one-goal lead through a barrage of Jets’ opportunities, but they needed to turn the tide if they were going to finish the job. With a minute to play and the Jets’ net empty, Dawson Mercer raced all the way up the ice for a loose puck and buried it to seal the deal. With that, the Devils walked away with a fantastic 4-2 win.
Results
It wasn’t easy at times, but the Devils nevertheless walked away with a win to remember. Prior to the win against Pittsburgh, the Devils had been playing shaky hockey, but now, they’ve built momentum with two strong wins.
The Devils are still in second place in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind the Carolina Hurricanes. The Jets are also in second place, three points behind the Central Division-leading Stars.
Game Notes
Everyone Contributes
Sure, Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier played great, but it was the role-players who stepped up last night.
Dawson Mercer, who had been on a five-game point drought before Pittsburgh, scored two of the goals. Fabian Zetterlund, who hadn’t scored since early December, opened the scoring. Miles Wood, who had been playing horrendously and was benched for most of the game against Pittsburgh, scored the game-winner. Even Erik Haula, who hasn’t played his best hockey this season, notched two assists.
As head coach Lindy Ruff kept saying after Pittsburgh, it’s a team effort, and New Jersey did just that last night.
Blackwood Makes A Comeback
If you only watched the first period, you might have turned off the television thinking the Devils were about to blow a strong game because of Mackenzie Blackwood’s ineptitude. You would have been wrong. He let in two bad goals to start the game, one off a prime rebound and one all the way from the blue line.
After that, however, he settled in. He played great during the second and third periods and bailed the Devils out of a few jams. Blackwood had a -1.48 goals saved above expected (GSAx) after the first frame but finished with a positive 1.02 GSAx. Overall, the Devils’ backup posted a .920 SV% on 25 shots.
Up Next
The Devils will take on the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday at 7:00 P.M. ET.