Introduction
The New Jersey Devils lost last night, 5-3, in their season finale against the Detroit Red Wings. A fitting way to end the season you could say. MacKenzie Blackwood made his first home start since January in the loss, as the Devils ended their season on six game winless streak and a 27-46-9 record. Second to last in the Metropolitan Division and fifth worst in the league.
Recap
First Period
The first period was a very even one, with the score and shots being the same at the end of it. Detroit struck early off a power move from Michael Rasmussen. Towards the end of the period the Devils were applying the pressure and it was Dawson Mercer tucking it all alone in front off a great shot-pass from Fabian Zetterlund.
Second Period
The second period wasn’t great for the Devils, with the team collecting just six shots in the frame. Once again, Detroit got an early goal with Moritz Seider collecting his 50th point of the season on a nice shot. Once again, towards the end of the period, the Devils tied it with Nolan Foote tipping a Hamilton shot from the point. So, for the second time last night, the Devils ended the period tied.
Third Period
The third and final frame saw more domination from Detroit. They scored early on off a Dawson Mercer turnover, with Joe Veleno collecting his eighth of the season. The Devils tied it shortly after, with Fabian Zetterlund tying the game on a shot that just snuck past Detroit’s goalie Magnus Hellberg.
However, a few minutes after that Pius Suter got a backhand off that trickled through Blackwood’s five-hole, and after further review, was deemed to have fully crossed the line. This despite Hamilton’s attempt to clear it away. The Devils pulled the goalie in an attempt to tie it, but an empty net goal for Tyler Bertuzzi with 10 seconds left sealed the deal for the Wings. They went on to win the game 5-3.
Notes
- Detroit’s goaltender last night, Magnus Hellberg, won his first game back in the NHL since 2017. His 20 saves on 23 shots, while not very good, got the job done.
- If there was a positive to take out of the season finale, it’s that some of the Devils’ goal scorers were rookies. Two of the three of them had solid games. Fabian Zetterlund had a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 51.85 and an expected goals percentage (xG%) of 67.97. Nolan Foote collected a CF% of 55.00 as well as a xG% of 72.46. Those numbers for Foote go along with his great last couple of games as well.
- Alexander Holtz did not play particularly well at all in his two game call up, last night in particular. The former seventh overall pick had a CF% of 31.25 and an xG% of 25.2. This is probably some cause for concern, but I wouldn’t put too much weight into his NHL games this season, considering he only played nine.
All Statistics are via. Natural Stat Trick.