After winning three-straight games, including a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators the previous night, the New Jersey Devils (19-14-2) were manhandled 5-2 by the Boston Bruins (21-7-6). The Devils got out to an early lead, but five unanswered goals sunk them.
First Period
The Devils came out of the gate decently, with Erik Haula drawing a power play off a high stick in the opening minutes. Nico Hischier drew first-blood moments into the man advantage, tapping in a tape-to-tape pass from Tyler Toffoli on a set play off the faceoff at the 6:03 mark.
New Jersey didn’t get many grade-A chances for the rest of the period but held Boston scoreless heading into the first intermission. The Bruins had a few good chances of their own, including a breakaway from former Devil Pavel Zacha, but Vitek Vanecek stood tall in the net. Still, the Bruins got too many quality looks.
The Devils led going into the break but didn’t control much of the first period, notching a 37.14 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 16.94 expected goal percentage (xG%). On top of this, the Bruins got six high-danger chances.
Second Period
The Devils went into the second frame with thirty seconds of power play time off a David Pastrnak tripping call late in the first, but couldn’t convert. Seconds after, however, Luke Hughes extended the lead to two goals at the 1:11 mark, taking a neutral zone feed from Tyler Toffoli and wristing the puck past Linus Ullmark, whose vision was shielded by Charlie McAvoy.
After that opportunistic goal, the wheels fell off completely. Jake DeBrusk put Boston on the board at the 5:35 mark, walking in on a poorly-positioned Vitek Vanecek and dangling around him. David Pastrnak tied the game at the 12:51 mark, sliding past poor coverage by Luke Hughes and beating Vanecek to the post. Then, Kevin Bahl endured a holding call, and Pastrnak capitalized for the second time at the 15:39 mark, catching New Jersey in a line change and beating a helpless Vanecek. Minutes later, Kevin Shattenkirk put the Bruins up by two, his 100th career goal.
The Devils had been playing poorly since the late minutes of the first period, but they managed to hide that through opportunistic goals. In the second, however, Boston came out in full force, walking all over New Jersey. Through two periods, New Jersey had just a 26.62 xG%.
Third Period
Things didn’t get better for New Jersey in the third period, but at least they stopped the bleeding. They couldn’t put another one past Linus Ullmark, however, essentially sealing the game. Kevin Bahl got called for high sticking with four minutes left to play, and the Devils rightfully decided to push for a goal down by two. They paid for that with another goal from Kevin Shattenkirk to make it 5-2. That would be the final score as the Devils dropped what would have been their fourth win in a row.
The Devils controlled play in the third period, achieving a 75.75 CF% and a 90.61 xG%.
Results
Last night was another back end of a back-to-back where New Jersey just didn’t have any gas. They got toasted by a well-rested Bruins squad, providing little help to a beleaguered Vanecek. They have a three-day break now and will look to get back on track in the new year.
The Devils now own a record of 19-14-2 and sit in fifth in the Metropolitan Division with 40 points. The Bruins are now 20-7-6 and first in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference.
Game Notes
- Nico Hischier scored a much-needed goal in the first period. Hischier had gone three games without a point before Ottawa and now has two in his last two games.
- David Pastrnak and Kevin Shattenkirk each scored twice, including Shattenkirk’s 100th career goal. The Bruins pair pounced on the exhausted New Jersey team.
- The power play is recovering after a 2-for-26 stretch. After going 2-for-4 against Ottawa, they went 1-for-2 against Boston.
Up Next
The Devils will take on the Washington Capitals next Wednesday at 7:30 pm ET.