Overview
The New Jersey Devils (26-42-7) fell 4-3 in a shootout at the Seattle Kraken (24-44-6) last night. Kraken forward Ryan Donato scored the only goal of the skills competition and the Devils came up short in their first ever trip to Emerald City. Seattle picked up its third-ever shootout victory and earned a split of the season series with New Jersey, after a 4-2 Devils win back in October. With the loss, New Jersey drops to 2-1-1 on this current West Coast road trip, with one more contest at Vegas tomorrow night.
First Period
The Devils got off to an ideal start on the road, with Jesper Bratt opening up the scoring just 3:12 into the game. The 23-year-old Swede buried a shot from the left circle off a nice cross-ice feed from Andreas Johnsson on the rush. The goal was Bratt’s 25th of the season and 200th career NHL point.
New Jersey controlled the play early, firing five of the game’s first six shots on net. Then, the Devils went to the powerplay after Karson Kuhlman was called for high-sticking at 7:11. However, the Devils could not convert, no even registering a shot on net.
Seattle gained some much needed momentum from the penalty kill, and moments later, defenseman Will Borgen evened the score at one. Victor Rask found Borgen alone in the slot, and Borgen beat Nico Daws with a one-timer. It was just his second goal of the season at the 10:49 mark.
The Kraken began to control the game from there, but couldn’t capitalize. Rask fired wide from the near circle before Daniel Sprong missed the net a breakaway.
However, the Devils again seized the momentum late in the period. Against the run of play, Jesper Boqvist and Pavel Zacha played give-and-go and Boqvist beat Grubauer from the slot to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead with 3:46 remaining in the first period.
Neither side threatened the goal from there, and the Devils took a one-goal lead into the intermission. Shots were 8-6 New Jersey.
Second Period
Seattle took control to start the second period. The Kraken went to an early powerplay, but the Devils killed it off relatively easily. Seattle got just one shot through to Nico Daws.
Once the game returned to even strength, it opened up considerably. Both teams traded chance after chance, but neither could capitalize. The best chance fell to Kraken forward Kole Lind who hit the post from the far circle.
The Devils went back to the power play at the 7:51 mark, but couldn’t create any meaningful chances. However, Jamie Oleksiak was called for holding one minute and four seconds after the powerplay ended, and the Devils went back to the man advantage.
Again, New Jersey could not take advantage, but this powerplay had some chances. Fabian Zetterlund was denied on a one-timer and Philipp Grubauer was able to keep the puck out following a scramble resulting from a Nico Hischier slapshot. Regardless, the game remained tied and the 27th ranked Seattle penalty kill was three-for-three.
Just like in the first period, special teams came back to haunt New Jersey. Carson Soucy knotted the game at two after the Devils again lost track of a Kraken defenseman. Soucy walked into the slot and sniped it home past Daws with 4:40 remaining in the middle period.
Kevin Bahl was called for hooking 40 seconds later and Seattle again took advantage. Rookie Matty Beniers buried a rebound for his first career NHL goal, giving the Kraken their first lead at the 16:57 mark. The 19 year old forward made his NHL debut Tuesday night at Calgary, registering an assist in a 5-3 loss.
At the end of the period, Seattle led 3-2 and shots were even at 17.
Third Period
The Devils started fast in the third period and Damon Severson wasted little time getting New Jersey even again. The defenseman scored his 11th of the season after a nice feed from Michael McLeod just five minutes into the third.
From there, the Devils maintained control of the game, firing some shots at Grubauer from tight angles, but couldn’t find any rebounds. However, midway through the period, things evened out. Seattle’s best chance of the period came when Daniel Sprong, who had been dangerous all night, danced around Ty Smith, but his shot was fought off by Daws.
Chances slowed down late in the period and it was time for free hockey in Seattle with the score tied at 3. Shots were 25-24 New Jersey.
Overtime
The Devils started overtime with the trio of Hischier, Bratt, and Severson. New Jersey got control of the puck first, but couldn’t craft a quality chance. Overtime became possession-centric, with both teams routinely skating back into the neutral zone to reset.
However, Seattle went to the power play after Beniers was cross-checked by Pavel Zacha after a strong move. The Kraken had 1:15 to find the winner at four-on-three. Kevin Bahl, Damon Severson, and Nico Hischier were on the penalty kill for NJ.
Nico Daws was forced to cover the puck early in a scramble after a Jared McCann redirect in front. From there, the Devils prevented the Kraken from any Grade-A chances, with Kevin Bahl blocking a couple of shots.
With the Kraken unable to score on the powerplay, it was off to the shootout at Climate Pledge Arena.
Shootout
Ryan Donato began the shootout with a nasty backhand tuck to beat Nico Daws, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead. Tomas Tatar opened the shootout for New Jersey and tried to beat Grubauer five-hole, but his wrist shot was blocked aside with a stick save.
With Seattle leading 1-0, Matthew Beniers fired a wrist shot off the outside of the post. Then, Jesper Bratt had a wrister turned away by Grubauer in close, keeping Seattle in front.
Nico Daws kept the Devils in it when he stuck with Daniel Sprong on the backhand. However, Yegor Sharangovich ripped one off the crossbar, and Seattle won the shootout 1-0.
Game Notes
The Second Period was Rough
The second period was an ugly one for New Jersey. The Devils were outscored 2-0 and the underlying metrics were not any better. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Devils had just 24.16% of the expected goals at five-on-five in the middle frame. Comparatively, New Jersey had 66.36% and 77.41% of the expected goals in the first and third periods, respectively. Seattle completely flipped the game on its head in the second period and made it count on the scoreboard as well.
Special Teams
It was not a banner night for the New Jersey special teams units to say the least. The Devils went 0-3 on the powerplay and created very little, while the penalty kill was 2-3. At five-on-five, the Devils had the better of the play, putting up 2.15 expected goals compared to Seattle’s 1.32, per Natural Stat Trick. With power plays included, the Devils’ expected goal share shrunk from 62.15% to 55.45%.
Things weren’t any prettier using the eye test, either. Both of Seattle’s goals in the second period came within four minutes of killing off a pair of Devils power plays. New Jersey now has not scored on the power play since March 27 against Montreal. In the nine games since, NJ is 0-24 with the man advantage.
What’s Next
The Devils wrap up a five-game road trip with a trip to Vegas tomorrow night. Puck drop is scheduled for 10 PM ET on MSG+.