Despite a two-goal comeback at one point, the New Jersey Devils (1-0-1) fell to the Arizona Coyotes (1-0-0) 4-3 in the shootout Friday night at the Prudential Center. It was a highly-entertaining matchup with grade-A chances and a ton of penalties. However, New Jersey fell short, maybe deservingly so, suffering the shootout defeat.
Summary
First Period
Much like their season-opener against the Detroit Red Wings, the Devils got off to a very slow start in the first period. They let Arizona buzz in their zone unimpeded during the first half of the frame. The Coyotes put up the first five shots on goal of the game while stymying the Devils’ transition game.
Finally, Matt Dumba opened the scoring for the Coyotes at the 6:22 mark, one-timing a drop pass from Clayton Keller in the high slot. From there, the Devils seemed to gain some life, getting some good shifts in Arizona’s end. They didn’t respond to the Dumba goal, however, and went into the locker room down 1-0.
New Jersey’s possession numbers were underwhelming in the first, with a 40.63 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) to go along with a 28.19 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%).
Second Period
All hell broke loose during the second period pretty much from the start. Jonas Siegenthaler took an interference call three minutes into the period, and Sean Durzi capitalized with a one-time blast from the blue line to put Arizona up 2-0.
After a dueling minors and during a four-on-four stint, Jesper Bratt did not miss the opportunity to bury his first goal of the season with all the open ice, going two-on-one with Jack Hughes and one-timing his feed from in tight.
The penalties kept on coming; New Jersey killed off the ten seconds of five-on-three action and immediately made it four-on-four on a Nick Bjugstad high stick. Just 40 seconds later, the Devils returned to four-on-three with a Jason Zucker tripping call.
Dougie Hamilton finally capitalized on this penalty madness with a one-time blast off a Jack Hughes feed, his second goal in as many games. Tied 2-2, the Devils continued to buzz in the Coyotes’ zone.
After a short reprieve from hearing a whistle, Sean Durzi took a slashing penalty to send New Jersey back to the power play. Just 30 seconds later, Bjugstad took a tripping minor to make it five-on-three.
Jesper Bratt pounced again, this time ripping it home from the far circle to put the Devils in front 3-2. With all the penalties flying around, it was chaos in the second frame. Nevertheless, New Jersey posted three unanswered goals to end the period taking a 3-2 lead.
Third Period
The penalties quieted down a bit in the third period, but it was still a nerve-wracking frame. Timo Meier took a slashing call at the 5:43 mark, giving the Coyotes a chance to tie the game. Nick Schmaltz did not miss that chance, squeezing his first NHL goal between Akira Schmid and the pipe.
The rest of the period was a back-and-forth contest with neither team sealing the deal. New Jersey got a lot of shots in on Karel Vejmelka, but he made a valiant effort to keep them from taking the lead. The Coyotes got a few great looks in on Akira Schmid but he also came up clutch. Arizona dominated the high-danger chances, posting a high-danger CF% of 80.00 in the third. It was a nail-biter to the end of regulation, but we would have to go to overtime to determine a winner.
Overtime/Shootout
The overtime period got off to a relatively slow start with both teams trading possessions. The Devils eventually got going, threatening to end it multiple times. Most notably, Jack Hughes dished a pass to Dawson Mercer right in front of the net, but Vejmelka made a gorgeous save to keep the Coyotes alive. Dougie Hamilton took a tripping penalty late in the extra period, making it four-on-three in favor of the Coyotes for the rest of overtime. Arizona made an all-out effort to score, but the Devils’ special teams unit and Akira Schmid stoned them, forcing a shootout.
Despite an abundance of puck-handling and sharp-shooting Devils on the roster, New Jersey was held scoreless in the shootout. Vejmelka stopped both Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt while Nick Bjugstad and Nick Schmaltz scored on Schmid.
Game Notes
A Tsunami of Penalties
The second period was a complete bombardment of penalties, nine to be exact. Most of that period was not spent at five-on-five. And the kicker? Pretty much all of the calls made were warranted. New Jersey has made some undisciplined plays through their first two games. Against Detroit, it was Jack Hughes taking two frustrating minors. Last night, it was weak slashes, hooks, trips, and interference calls that could have been avoided. They would have sunk the Devils if not for Arizona taking equally undisciplined penalties.
Goalies Keep Their Teams Alive
Both Akira Schmid and Karel Vejmelka played phenomenally last night, making crucial save after crucial save. Akira Schmid kept the Devils in it through a barrage of high-danger chances from the Coyotes, especially in the first and third periods. His numbers weren’t fantastic, a .909 SV% and 0.13 goals saved above expected (GSAx), but he kept the team in it.
Vejmelka was the real hero for Arizona, making some unbelievable saves on the Devils’ best scorers. He posted a .914 SV% and stood tall in net against Bratt and Meier in the shootout.
Other Notes
- Jesper Bratt scored twice and notched an assist last night, he is picking back up right where he left off.
- Dougie Hamilton scored his second goal of the season in the same fashion as the first, a one-time power play blast.
- Jack Hughes dished out three assists, showing his versatility as a goal-scorer and a playmaker.
Up Next
The Devils will face off against the Florida Panthers on Monday at 7:00 pm EST.