Saturday evening, the New Jersey Devils (24-15-3) fell to the San Jose Sharks (13-23-6) in a 3-2 heartbreaker at SAP Center. It was the Devils’ fourth straight loss on this road trip.
First Period
The Devils got off to a decent start with good puck movement through the first shift but they didn’t get a chance to build momentum as Jonas Siegenthaler took a high-sticking penalty 20 seconds into the game. New Jersey effectively killed off the penalty, even generating a couple of rush chances the other way, and got back to business.
The Devils built offensive momentum on the back of that kill, buzzing in San Jose’s zone with rush chances and design plays. Surprisingly, the Sharks also got some great looks in the Devils’ zone, putting Jacob Markstrom to work early and often.
Jack Hughes almost opened the scoring on a two-on-one, aiming for Yaroslav Askarov’s five-hole and just missing. Tyler Toffoli responded for the Sharks, forcing Markstrom to make a couple of grade-A saves in front of the net.
The Sharks got their second power play chance of the night on a Brendan Dillion hooking call, setting up a potential scoring opportunity. The Devils managed another excellent kill, keeping the Sharks to the outside and forcing the puck down the ice often.
Despite the kill, it was the Sharks who had the last laugh of the period as Nikolai Kovalenko got behind the defense and scored on Jacob Markstrom. It was an unforced error for New Jersey with all five skaters going north expecting a neutral zone transition while Kovalenko intercepted the puck and scored.
It was a high-event first period even though there was only one goal. It was evenly matched in terms of Corsi (CF) and expected goals (xG), with the Devils recording 1.45 xG at five-on-five and San Jose recording 1.42.
Second Period
The Devils got another good start in the second period, playing well in transition and testing the Sharks’ defensive structure. They eventually forced their first power play chance of the night on a Macklin Celebrini high-sticking call. New Jersey spent the entirety of the man advantage in the offensive zone, slowly picking apart the Sharks’ penalty kill.
With little time left on the penalty, Jack Hughes got the puck down low and sent a centering pass to Nico Hischier in the crease, who caught Askarov out of position and scored to tie the game at 1-1.
The Devils couldn’t put the Sharks in a deeper hole after that goal as the game got chippier. The Sharks got another power play chance on a Siegenthaler holding call and looked much better on the man advantage. They kept the puck in the offensive zone and poked holes in the Devils’ kill, getting a few good shots on net. San Jose got another power play chance midway through the period that was cut short by a too-many-men call. Neither team had enough time to score on their respective power plays.
New Jersey lost their footing in the latter half of the period, generating scoring chances but no high-danger looks. The Sharks couldn’t generate much of anything but forced a couple of Devils’ mistakes that they managed to get away with. San Jose surged with some dangerous looks on Jacob Markstrom late in the period but ran out of time before it came back to bite the Devils.
It was a mixed bag for New Jersey in the second period. They got the tying goal and looked good to start the period, but got stuck in the mud to end the period. They notched a CF% of 60 but a 41.97 xG% on 0.34 xGs.
Third Period
The Sharks put the Devils under pressure to start the third period, and the result was a goal from rookie phenom Macklin Celebrini, who capitalized on a defensive gaffe from Brett Pesce. Pesce failed to tie up Celebrini, who was open to receive a feed from Will Smith before wristing the puck by Markstrom to give the Sharks the lead.
That lead wouldn’t last long, with Paul Cotter responding. Cotter carried the puck into the offensive zone and, in one motion, drove down low, moved the puck to his backhand to get around a defender, and moved it back to his forehand for a clean snap-shot goal.
The teams held firm in a stalemate for most of the remaining time, exchanging tense-looking chances with both teams desperate to break out of their slumps. Ondrej Palat could have ended it with two minutes to play when he had an empty net to shoot at but Askarov somehow got across to stop the chance. Despite the excellent save, Palat could have scored if he pulled the trigger sooner.
It looked like the game was headed for overtime with under a minute to play. The Sharks entered the Devils’ zone for one last attempt at pressure and everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. Jonas Siegenthaler got the puck in the corner and made to clear it but it went off the referee. Siegenthaler then fell and gave up the puck to extend the shift. With 24 seconds to play, Cody Ceci got the puck at the blue line and sent a rocket of a slap shot on net and past Markstrom to break the Devils’ hearts.
The Devils played a solid third period but kept the Sharks in it for too long. They earned a 53.33 CF% and a 67.7 xG%.
Results
The Devils played a competitive game but competitive isn’t enough against a bad team like the Sharks. To their credit, San Jose played an aggressive offensive game that kept the Devils on their toes, but New Jersey could have won if they had finished on several good chances. The Devils will lose sleep over this loss and they’ll hope to finally get right against the Seattle Kraken on Monday.
The Devils now own a record of 24-15-3 and maintain second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Sharks are now 13-23-6, still dead last in the Pacific.
Game Notes
- The bottom six carried the Devils last night, accounting for a majority of the offensive pressure. The Cotter line scored a 75.00 CF% and a 75.57 xG% while the Tatar line earned a 61.11 CF% and an 85.50 xG%. Meanwhile, the Hughes line notched a 38.30 xG% while the Hischier line notched a 37.86 xG%. This disparity showed up on the eye test, with the bottom six piling on pressure offensively and driving the puck down low to create chances and stop San Jose from getting anything set up.
- Yaroslav Askarov played an excellent game in net for the Sharks, stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced for a .933 SV% and 1.31 goals saved above expected. His save on Palat late in the third period was critical to the Sharks’ victory.
- The penalty kill was the only bright spot in the loss, stopping all four Sharks’ power plays. The unit has been strong even through this losing streak, stopping 13 of the last 14 penalties.
Up Next
The Devils will continue their road trip against the Seattle Kraken on Monday at 10:00 pm ET.