The New Jersey Devils (6-3-1) fell 4-1 to the St. Louis Blues (4-4-1) in the second half of a back-to-back on Friday night. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for New Jersey. Devils’ star center Jack Hughes was injured midway through the first period, played one shift, and did not return. Head coach Lindy Ruff postgame said that Hughes would be re-evaluated on Saturday morning, per Amanda Stein.
Game Summary
First Period
It was a bright opening shift for New Jersey with a couple of good chances, but St. Louis had the best early chance, going on the power play just two minutes in.
On that power play, the Blues had a couple of decent looks, but Akira Schmid was equal to them. The Devils ended up killing the penalty.
With the game back to even strength, Jack Hughes burst through the middle of the defense and got away a dangerous shot, but tripped as he crossed the goal line. Hughes went hard into the boards and remained down.
About a minute later, the Devils went to the power play and Hughes was back on the ice. The first power play unit failed to establish offensive zone control and cycled off. Hughes then went down the tunnel and did not return.
With most of the fanbase’s attention on Hughes, the game remained scoreless. Akira Schmid made a pair of saves on partial breakaways before the Devils killed off another Blues power play, with Schmid again making some nice stops.
After one, it was still 0-0. Shots were 11-7 in favor of St. Louis while the Devils posted a 45.45 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 78.55 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five.
Second Period
With Jack Hughes out and the Devils down a forward, head coach Lindy Ruff was forced to jumble the lines, and the Devils started the second period slowly.
The Blues controlled the early play and made it pay off. Jake Neighbours opened the scoring after the Devils got caught in the neutral zone leading to a partial breakaway.
St. Louis doubled the advantage three minutes later when Kevin Hayes buried a rebound from right in front of the net. It was 2-0 Blues midway through the second period.
After the Hayes goal, head coach Lindy Ruff benched Jonas Siegenthaler and Brendan Smith for the rest of the second period, pairing Luke Hughes with Dougie Hamilton. From this point, the Devils controlled play.
With just under four minutes left in the period, Curtis Lazar got the Devils on the board. After a great pinch by John Marino, Lazar found a rebound and slid it past Jordan Binnington for his first of the season.
The Devils continued to surge, but could not solve Binnington again, with his best save coming on a Timo Meier one-timer.
After two periods, it was 2-1 St. Louis. Shots in the middle frame were 13-11 Blues while the Devils had a 54.17 CF% and a 56.29 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
The Devils struggled to create offense early in the third period, but eventually gained some momentum.
New Jersey thought it had a power play after Brendan Smith was tripped, but it was cancelled out by an embellishment call. Jesper Bratt sparked some decent looks during the four-on-four, but could not beat Binnington.
The Devils really began to surge forward late in the period. Dougie Hamilton hit the outside of the post with roughly six minutes to go.
Then, the best chance of the night fell to the top line. Erik Haula broke up a pass on the forecheck and Tyler Toffoli centered to Timo Meier. His slot one-timer was blocked by Torey Krug before Toffoli shoveled the rebound high.
With two minutes to go, Akira Schmid was pulled for an extra attacker, but unfortunately for New Jersey, St. Louis scored twice into the empty net, making it 4-1.
In the third, shots were 16-11 in favor of the Devils. New Jersey posted a 60.71 CF% and a 61.91 xGF% at five-on-five.
Wrap-Up
Akira Schmid took a tough luck loss for the Devils. He stopped 31 of 33 shots faced, turning aside 0.46 goals above expected.
Jordan Binnington was stellar for the Blues. He made 33 saves on 34 shots which denied a whopping 2.59 goals above expected.
For the game, the Blues outshot the Devils 35-34. At five-on-five New Jersey had a 54.08 CF% and a 62.96 xGF%.
Game Notes
Brendan Smith and Jonas Siegenthaler Struggle
It was a very tough night for Jonas Siegenthaler and Brendan Smith. The two defensemen were both benched for a stretch at the end of the second period.
The two also had the lowest xGF% among Devils’ skaters with a 23.82 xGF% for Smith and a 38.70 xGF% for Siegenthaler.
Strong Night from Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes
Despite the struggles of Smith and Siegenthaler, Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes had a very impressive night. Both had an xGF% north of 75.00, the highest among New Jersey defensemen.
There was also a massive advantage in scoring chances with Hughes and Hamilton on the ice. With Hughes, chances were 12-4 Devils and 12-2 with Hamilton on the ice. High-danger chances were 7-0 with Hamilton playing at five-on-five.
Jesper Bratt
With both Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier out for most of the contest, Jesper Bratt was relied upon as the main playmaker for New Jersey. Bratt absolutely delivered in that role.
The Swede posted a 74.76 xGF% at five-on-five and completely dominated in terms of chance generation. With Bratt on the ice, high-danger chances were 9-0 in the Devils’ favor. While the offense certainly struggled without Hughes, Jesper Bratt absolutely elevated his game.
Strong Night for a Jumbled Third Line
Another bright spot for New Jersey was the new-look line of Erik Haula, Curtis Lazar, and Alexander Holtz. The trio was on the ice for the Devils’ only goal and had a staggering 92.45 xGF% during seven five-on-five minutes together.
What’s Next
The Devils continue their road trip in Chicago on Sunday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on MSGSN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.