The New Jersey Devils (27-22-4) fell 2-1 in regulation to the Los Angeles Kings (25-16-10) on Thursday. The loss snaps a three-game point streak for the Devils who remain two points out of a playoff spot with 29 games to go.
Game Summary
First Period
It was a slow opening few minutes as the two teams remained structurally sound. However, it was the Kings who ended up with the first good look.
About nine minutes into the contest, Kevin Fiala tried to make a pass from in tight on a two-on-one, but Colin Miller broke it up.
Later on the same shift, Anze Kopitar had the best chance of the opening period. The Kings’ captain found a loose puck in front, but Nico Daws robbed him with a sprawling glove save.
The Devils had a brief attack, but David Rittich made his best save of the period to deny Nathan Bastian from the doorstep before Los Angeles got right back on the front foot.
Late in the period, the Kings got another power play after Erik Haula took a hooking penalty. The Devils killed it off with Daws making a few more nice saves.
After one, shots were 13-5 Kings, but it remained scoreless. In the first, the Devils managed just a 27.78 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 29.81 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five.
Second Period
Just two minutes into the second period, the Kings went back to the power play when Luke Hughes was called for high-sticking. It was the shorthanded Devils, though, who had the best chance of the power play. Dawson Mercer led a partial two-on-one, but Viktor Arvidsson stopped him from getting a clean shot away.
With 14 minutes left in the period, New Jersey got its first power play of the night. However, just like on the previous Los Angeles power play, it was the penalty killers with the best chance.
10 seconds before the penalty expired, Adrian Kempe got on a partial breakaway ahead of Luke Hughes. Nico Daws fought off the initial shot, but the rebound deflected off Hughesâ skate and into the path of Kopitar, who tucked away the shorthanded goal. It was 1-0 Kings just over eight minutes into the middle frame.
Four minutes after the goal, New Jersey went back to the power play. After the second unit could not get set up, Jack Hughes set up Jesper Bratt for a one-timer. Rittch made the save, but Tyler Toffoli stashed home the rebound to tie the game at 1.
On the first shift after the tying goal, Nico Daws absolutely robbed Adrian Kempe with another diving glove save. Moments later, the game would head to four-on-four after Viktor Arvidsson elbowed Jack Hughes. Hughes was called for a coincidental roughing on the play.
During the four-on-four, Jesper Bratt hit the crossbar and Nico Daws made a couple more nice saves, but it remained 1-1. As the penalties expired, Jack Hughes had a partial breakaway fresh out of the box, but appeared to be hooked by Arvidsson with no call. Hughes then put the rebound wide of an open net.
As the period wound down, New Jersey had one more chance on the power play, but could not convert. 51 seconds of the man advantage carried over to the third frame in a 1-1 game.
In the second, shots were 8-7 Kings. New Jersey posted a 55.00 CF% and a 62.09 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
New Jersey could not capitalize on the 51 seconds of carry over power play time to start the third, but had another chance about five minutes later.
On their fourth power play of the night, the Devils set up a handful of good looks, but could not score. Nico Hischier may have had the best chance, but fanned on a one-timer from the slot.
Los Angeles went to a power play of its own moments after completing the kill after Pierre-Luc Dubois was hooked by Erik Haula on a two-on-one midway through the frame.
Just 50 seconds into the Kingsâ power play, Viktor Arvidsson slashed Lazar while trying to stop a clearance, and the game went back to four-on-four for 1:10.
Not much of note occurred during the four-on-four, but Nico Daws made a glove save to deny Trevor Moore on a partial break seconds into the Devilsâ abbreviated man advantage.
A minute later, the Kings went back to the power play after Curtis Lazar was outmuscled by Dubois and hauled him down, preventing an odd-man rush.
Late in the power play, a Brandt Clarke wrister from the point got through to Daws and Quinton Byfield made a great play to bury the rebound just under the bar, giving Los Angeles a 2-1 lead with 5:37 to play.
Chasing an equalizer, Nico Daws headed to the bench for an extra attacker with two minutes to go. They generated a couple of scrambles in front of Rittich, but could not find the tying goal. The clock hit zero with the Kings holding on for a 2-1 win.
In the third, shots were 15-8 New Jersey. The Devils posted a 51.85 CF% and a 47.23 xGF% at five-on-five.
Wrap-Up
For the game, shots were 29-27 in favor of the Kings. The Devils registered a 42.17 CF% and a 42.17 xGF% at five-on-five.
Nico Daws was the hard-luck loser in net for New Jersey. The 23-year-old made 27 saves on 29 shots against, including several highlight-reel stops, but did not get enough offensive support to earn a point. He stopped 1.37 goals above expected.
David Rittich earned the win for Los Angeles two days after allowing five goals in two periods in Buffalo. Rittich stopped 26 of 27 shots against, turning aside 1.93 goals above expected.
Game Notes
The Third Line Struggles
It was a tough night for most of the Devilsâ forward lines to gain any momentum with special teams constantly disrupting the flow, especially in the second and third periods.
However, the underlying metrics showed the third line of Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, and Curtis Lazar struggled in particular. During nine minutes together at five-on-five, the trio posted just a 22.22 CF% and a 12.29 xGF% while the Kings had an 8-3 edge in scoring chances with that line on the ice. High-danger chances were even worse, with Los Angeles generating a 3-0 advantage.
In fact, through two periods, that line had managed a 0.00 xGF%. It was certainly not a night to remember for that line which had played so well during the back-to-back. The Devils will need a better performance Saturday in the Stadium Series against a Flyers team directly ahead of them for a playoff spot.
Tough Night For The Birthday Boy
Simon Nemec turned 20 years old on Thursday, but unfortunately did not have his best game. He played just 12 minutes at five-on-five because of all the special teams play, well below his season average of 17:03, second on the team behind only the currently injured Dougie Hamilton.
During that time, Nemec posted a disappointing 13.16 xGF% and was out-chanced 8-3. High-danger chances were 2-0 Kings with Nemec on the ice. Only the three forwards on the third line finished below a 30.00 xGF% among New Jersey skaters.
Fortunately for Nemec, this is the outlier among his recent games. The rookie has been playing well in important minutes in his first NHL stint, and Devils fans should expect him to bounce back right away on Saturday night.
Solid Performance From Smith-Miller Pairing
One bright spot for New Jersey on Thursday was the play of Brendan Smith and Colin Miller. This was Smithâs second game back from a knee injury, and he led Devilsâ defensemen with a 68.01 xGF% at five-on-five. Only Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes finished with a higher mark than Smith.
New Jersey was still out-chanced 5-3 with Smith on the ice, but did break-even 2-2 in terms of high-danger chances.
Meanwhile, Miller finished with a 58.11 xGF%. The Kings held a 5-4 scoring chances edge with high-danger chances again even at 2-2 with Miller on the ice.
It was certainly not a perfect night for the pair, but it was certainly acceptable and a solid spot to build from. That is especially true in Smithâs case, having just returned to the lineup.
Whatâs Next
The Devils head outside Saturday night for the Stadium Series game against the Philadelphia Flyers at MetLife Stadium! Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN+.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick