Thursday, the New Jersey Devils lost, 4-1, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was another frustrating one as the team had plenty of chances, but couldn’t beat Arturs Silovs. The loss drops New Jersey to 28-29-2 on the season.
Recap
Period One
The Devils came out a little bit sluggish, with Jacob Markström having to come up with multiple big stops to keep it 0-0. However, after the first few minutes it was the Devils who were on the front foot for most of the period. Silovs made multiple great stops to keep the game tied in Pittsburgh’s end.
With just about a minute left, the Penguins were on the power play and Tommy Novak had a nice redirection to put Pittsburgh up 1-0. The Devils came very close to tying the game back up, but failed as time expired in the first period.
Period Two
The Devils continued their push in the second period and did score early on. Dougie Hamilton fired a slapshot that deflected off Paul Cotter and in, to even the game 1-1. New Jersey had four power plays in the second period alone, and didn’t score on any of them, although their one goal was on a delayed penalty with the extra attacker.
Pittsburgh would push towards the last quarter of the frame on a power play of their own, but Markstrom was up to the task and so the game stayed 1-1 after two.
Period Three
The Devils, tied heading into the third period, collapsed once again. In the span of about 50 seconds the game went from 1-1 to 3-1, Penguins.
First, it was Connor Clifton who got a perfect carrom off the post and fired the puck in short side high past Markstrom. Then, Egor Chinakov took advantage of a bad change by the Devils and went five-hole on the breakaway to double the Pens’ lead.
The Devils got a late power play and pulled Markström to try and get back into the game, after missing on one or two more great chances, Dougie Hamilton had a pass picked off and Blake Lizotte made no mistake on the empty net.
The Penguins won 4-1, as the Devils dropped their fifth straight game.
Game Notes
Third Period Woes
After allowing three more third-period goals, the Devils are a league-worst minus-23 in the final frame of regulation. The Canucks are the second-worst team in that regard at minus-20.
Jack’s Victory Lap
It’s been a busy week for Jack Hughes. Sunday he scored the gold-medal winning goal for team USA at the Olympics. Monday, Hughes was in Miami with his USA teammates partying. Tuesday, he was in Washington D.C. getting a tour of the White House and attending the State of the Union. Wednesday, he was back in New Jersey for the Devils first game back from break. Thursday, Hughes was in Pittsburgh for the Devils game against the Penguins. Friday, Jack will be in Indianapolis to make an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. Finally, on Saturday, Hughes will be in St Louis to play for the Devils against the Blues. Seven days, seven cities for the most popular athlete in America right now.
What’s Next
The Devils next game is on the road, Saturday against the St Louis Blues at 5:00 pm ET.