In what was a very hard fought game, the New Jersey Devils (8-7-1) found themselves on the short end of the stick losing 5-3. As expected it was a tough battle against the first place New York Rangers, but the Devils game themselves an opportunity to walk away with a win or at least an overtime point and just couldn’t close it out down the stretch. Jack Hughes return sparked the offense, and he remains a two-point per game player.
Recap
1st Period
Devils were testing Igor Shesterkin early and often, firing shots from everywhere trying to find some rust on the Rangers goalie. Rangers would, however, be the ones to strike first, courtesy of a Artemi Panarin power play goal. Alexander Holtz was sent off for a neutral zone trip and after some nice passing Panarin found himself with space from just below the left faceoff dot. Vitek Vanecek seemed to end up a bit of out position and ultimately got beat.
The Devils would respond only a few minutes after, courtesy of Jack Hughes. Jack took a seemingly harmless shot on net that Shesterkin appeared to have covered, but the puck trickled through his legs and rolled in. The referees initially had blown the whistle, but after reviewed it was deemed the puck was going in from the original shot and ruled a good goal.
The Rangers and Jimmy Vesey responded with a goal of their own, coming off of a tough rebound given up by Vanecek, make it 2-1 Rangers.
A recurring theme tonight was Jacob Trouba laying the body, which all started with his hit on Tomas Nosek. On an attempt to cut towards the net, Nosek lost the puck in his feet and left his head down, opening the door for a brutal body check that left Nosek stunned on the ice. He would eventually be helped off to the locker room and did not return to the game.
The Devils powerplay remained lethal, capitalizing on their one opportunity for the game thanks to another leaky goal given up by Shesterkin. After a quick zone entry, Ondrej found himself with space in the high slot and ripped a shot low far side that went off of Igors glove and in. It was tied at two after the first frame.
2nd Period
Things settled down a bit in the second, largely due to each goalie finding their groove. Started off early with Vanecek robbing Panarin of his second goal of the night. Shesterkin would answer with some big saves of his own, first against Toffoli and then a massive save in tight on Jack Hughes who found space to walk right into the crease on the backhand.
After a Mercer tripping with 2:05 remaining, Vanecek would come up huge again when he made a wild sprawling save against a backdoor play to Vincent Trochek. Devils would end up able to complete the kill and end the period tied 2-2.
3rd Period
The Devils would take their first lead of the night just one minute into the period. After quickly establishing their offensive zone setup, Hughes took a beautiful feed from Dougie Hamilton and worked the puck towards the crease. The puck trickled through skates and landed right on Erim Haula’s stick, who finished with an absolutely perfect back hand goal to beat Igor and give the Devils a 3-2 lead.
The Devils penalty kill would come up big again after a too many men penalty with 13:28 remaining. Vanecek led the way with some big time saves, including a massive save on Mika Zibanejad. Right off the kill, Jesper Bratt’s defensive pressure would lead to a takeaway and a break, but Igor Shesterkin tracked him the whole way and kept it a one goal game.
Finally, Panarin would strike yet again, picking up a loose puck right off a faceoff and burying it by Vanecek, tying things at 3-3. From there, it really felt like the Rangers took control, and the inevitable game winner came courtesy of another Vesey rebound goal. That was another one Vanecek is going to want to have back after giving up a juicy rebound on a seemingly harmless initial shot.
The Devils tried to press with the goalie pulled, but once again a full length empty netter goes in and the Devils fall in this one 5-3. A very hard fought game with a rough outcome.
Key Takeaways
Jack Hughes is still a monster. In his first game back from injury and the potential for a slow start, Jack finished the night with two points (one goal, one assist) and barely skipped a beat. He was immediately driving play in the offensive zone and really changes the way teams have to defend when he is out on the ice. It’s no surprise to see him atop the impact charts yet again.
Meanwhile, Vanecek had another confusing game. As mentioned above in the game recap, there were numerous instances where he made big-time saves in big-time moments, which he’s capable of doing at any point in time. However, some of the goals that end up beating him are ones that seemingly are far less harmless plays, especially when it comes to rebound control.
Another game with a negative goals saved anice anverage and another night where the team falls short of what felt like a winnable game. The Devils have to keep rolling out Vanecek and Akira Schmid, but if one of them doesn’t catch a hot streak the goalie situation will remain a problem for the foreseeable future.
What’s Next
The Devils next game isn’t until Wednesday the 22nd of November, where they hit the road to take on the Detroit Red Wings. Game time is set for 7:00 pm ET.