It was another loss for the New Jersey Devils in Boston against the Bruins on Saturday. The Devils now sit at 16-13-1 on the season. Based on points percentage, New Jersey remains outside the playoff picture.
Recap
First Period
The Devils dominated the game’s first period, however, the scoreboard read 1-1 when the buzzer sounded. Boston got the scoring started 17:42 into the frame. Dennis Cholowski and Simon Nemec combined for a blunder in the defensive zone that resulted in a Fraser Minten tally.
The Devils finally got rewarded for their efforts just a minute after the Boston goal. Luke Hughes shot a puck from the point that Nico Hischier redirected. That redirection found its way to Timo Meier who batted it home from the doorstep.
Despite the 1-1 score, New Jersey held the shot attempt advantage 26-11 and held nearly 84% of the expected goal share.
Second Period
It was more of the same for the Devils in the second. However, unlike the first period, Boston was the period’s lone scorer.
Brenden Dillon, who has not only been the Devils’ best defenseman this season, but one of the more valuable in the league, brutally turned the puck over. That turnover was dished to Morgan Geekie who slid it past Jake Allen.
New Jersey pressured hard the rest of the way but was unable to breakthrough like they did in the first. The Devils once again held the shot attempt advantage (25-17) and held the expected goal share at 55%. Despite this, they trailed 2-1 after two periods.
Third Period
New Jersey spent the first 16 minutes of the third period ferociously chasing the game-tying goal. Their best moment came off a terrific move by Ondrej Palat, but Jeremy Swayman stoned the attempt on the door step.
The frustrations boiled over when the Bruins tallied the insurance goal late in the period. Nico Hischier let Casey Mittelstadt slip behind him after Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler marked their man. The Bruins added an empty-net tally for good measure, spelling the end of the game with a 4-1 final score.
Wrap Up
Jeremy Swayman was the star of the show Saturday night. The Bruins’ netminder stopped 29-of-30 and saved 2.09 goals above expected. Meanwhile, Jake Allen was fine for the Devils, stopping 17-of-20. He really didn’t have much of a chance on each of the opportunities he was beaten by.
Each team went 0-for-1 on the power play. At five-on-five, the Devils owned the expected goals advantage 2.87-2.48.
Game Notes
Arseny Gritsyuk
The Devils’ rookie winger has been one of the few bright spots for the team this year. He continued his superb season on Saturday as his line, with Cody Glass and Connor Brown, were the best for the Devils. The trio held the shot attempt advantage at 23-6, scoring chance advantage 10-4, and held 69% of the expected goal share at five-on-five.
On the season, Gritsyuk ranks above the league’s 67th percentile in offensive, defensive, and overall on-ice impacts according to Evolving Hockey.
Dougie Hamilton
Dougie Hamilton had himself a strong game Saturday night. He has taken a ton of underserved heat from several around the team this season. However, he’s comfortably been the team’s second-best defenseman behind Brenden Smith.
While on the ice at five-on-five Saturday, the Devils held the shot attempt advantage 34-15. His offensive game isn’t where it has been in season’s past, but his defensive game has been strong.
What’s Next?
The Devils are back in action Tuesday night in Ottawa for a 7:00 pm ET puck drop.