The New Jersey Devils got thoroughly outplayed by the New York Rangers in a 5-1 loss in Game 2 of their first round series on Thursday. The Rangers took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series with both wins coming by an identical scoreline at the Prudential Center before the series shifts to Madison Square Garden on Saturday for Game Three.
Game Summary
First Period
It was a back-and-forth first few minutes, but the Rangers had the first big chance, going to the power play five minutes in after a Brendan Smith roughing call. The Devils were able to kill it off, but Vitek Vanecek was forced into a couple of solid saves. The best chance came when Artemi Panarin hit the crossbar on a one-timer.
Minutes later, though, the Devils had a power play of their own. After struggling to even enter the zone for the first minute, the second unit eventually got set up. With seconds left in the man advantage, Ondrej Palat threw a puck on net that was deflected by Michael McLeod. The puck squeezed through Igor Shesterkin and was stashed home by Erik Haula, giving New Jersey its first lead of the series with eight minutes to go in the first period.
New Jersey seized momentum after the goal and came forward with a brief flurry of chances, but could not add on.
After one, it was 1-0 Devils, but the Rangers had a 14-9 edge in shots. At five-on-five, the Devils had a 53.85 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and just a 25.24 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%).
Second Period
The middle frame was all Rangers. There were a few chances for New Jersey early on, but Igor Shesterkin was equal to them, especially on a Jack Hughes two-on-one shot that he fought off.
However, the Rangers eventually hemmed the Devils in, and the pressure paid off. After a long shift in the offensive zone, Vladimir Tarasenko beat a screened Vanecek with a wrister from the slot. His second of the series tied the game at 1-1 six minutes into the period.
The Rangers’ pressure did not let up there. Miles Wood took a slashing penalty and New York went back to the power play. This time they made it count. Chris Kreider deflected home a Patrick Kane shot for his third PPG of the series, making it 2-1 Rangers midway through the second.
The Devils had a chance to respond moments later on the power play, but again, spent over a minute just trying to get set up in the zone. They came away empty-handed.
New York had another power play of their own a few minutes later after a Timo Meier holding call. Again, Kreider struck, essentially chipping Vanecek with a redirect at the side of the cage. It was 3-1 Rangers after Kreider’s fourth power play goal in five periods.
That was also the score after two. Shots were 9-5 Rangers in the second while at five-on-five, the Devils posted just a 40.91 CF% and a 33.52 xGF%.
Third Period
The Devils had their best stretch early in the final period. Jesper Bratt hit the crossbar just 20 seconds in. Plenty of offensive zone time followed, but New Jersey could not beat Shesterkin. John Marino might’ve had the best chance, but he stashed a cross-slot feed just wide from in tight.
Despite this pressure, the Rangers got on the board next. Patrick Kane knocked a puck down the ice, got on the end of it, and roofed a backhander past Vanecek. It was 4-1 New York with 13 minutes to go, and the 2-0 series deficit was all but confirmed.
The Devils killed off a Damon Severson penalty a few minutes later, but just after the penalty expired, Kaapo Kakko was all alone in front and buried a centering feed from Filip Chytil, making it 5-1 with seven minutes to go.
Tempers began to boil over after that. Michael McLeod and Braden Schneider dropped the gloves which ended up with all ten skaters on the ice receiving misconducts, ending their nights early.
From there, it was mostly routine, with the Rangers taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
In the third, shots were 9-7 New Jersey. The Devils posted a 68.75 CF% and a 66.94 xGF% at five-on-five.
Wrap-Up
Erik Haula had the only goal for New Jersey with Ondrej Palat and Michael McLeod getting the helpers. Jack Hughes led the team with six shots on net.
In net, Vitek Vanecek had another tough night. He stopped 25 of 30 shots, allowing 1.62 goals above expected in the loss.
Igor Shesterkin played well once again. He turned aside 22 of 23 shots and stopped 1.38 goals above expected.
For the game, shots were 30-23 in favor of New York. The Devils owned a 56.25 CF% and a 47.34 xGF at five-on-five, but most of that came from the early flurry in the third.
Game Notes
Poor Discipline and Penalty Kill
While the Devils have struggled in basically every aspect of the game so far, the penalty kill has been maybe the biggest back-breaker of all. In Game 1, New York went 2-for-3 on the power play, and Game Two was not much better.
The Rangers were 2-for-7 with the man advantage in Game 2, but a couple of those were abbreviated looks. Regardless, the Devils cannot afford to give that many chances to a lethal power play unit.
In nine minutes of power play time, the Rangers generated 1.62 expected goals, scoring twice. On that note, the Devils still have not found an answer for Chris Kreider in front of the net. Jonas Siegenthaler was scratched for Brendan Smith in Game 2, but it made no difference. Looking at the pairings on the penalty kill, Ryan Graves and John Marino have been on the ice for all four of New York’s power play goals.
Brutal Night for Miles Wood
It has been a tough year for Miles Wood, but Thursday may have been his worst game of the season. In six minutes of ice time at five-on-five, he had a miserable 2.12 xGF%. Scoring chances were 3-0 in favor of the Rangers and high-danger chances were 2-0 with Wood on the ice.
Meanwhile, Wood has taken two penalties over the two games and the Rangers have scored on both power plays. Wood has not played well at five-on-five and has put the Devils in bad situations with his penalties. With Curtis Lazar scratched alongside Yegor Sharangovich in Game 1 and Jesper Boqvist in Game Two, having Wood in the lineup for Game Three seems almost inexcusable.
Hamilton-Bahl Pairing Struggled
It was a rough night across the board for New Jersey skaters, but the top defensive pair had the toughest time of all Devils’ defensemen. Hamilton had a 26.15 xGF% while Bahl had a 31.24 xGF% at five-on-five. Neither had a positive share of the scoring chances, although high-danger chances were only 3-2 Ranges with Hamilton on the ice and 2-2 with Bahl on the ice.
With this duo struggling alongside most of the team, it makes sense to reunite Hamilton and Siegenthaler in Game 3. The Swiss defensemen had a 66.92 xGF% in Game 1, leading all Devils’ defensemen, and the Devils looked much worse without him in Game Two.
Lindy Ruff cited physicality as a reason for the change postgame, but the Devils leaning into physicality certainly looks to have taken away from their fast-paced style that got them to the playoffs in the first place.
What’s Next
Game 3 at Madison Square Garden is scheduled for Saturday at 8 pm ET. The game is an ABC and ESPN+ exclusive broadcast.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.