Thursday, the Nee Jersey Devils lost, 5-4 against the Calgary Flames. The team allowed two goals early on and never saw the lead after that. The loss drops New Jersey to 32-31-2 on the season.
Recap
Period One
The Devils came out hot with a few great chances out of the gate, however it was the Flames who struck first. Johnny Beacher came in on a two-on-one and snuck a shot by Jacob Markström to make it 1-0. Just a few minutes later, a long shift in the defensive zone led to a goal by former Devil Kevin Bahl who was traded for Markström almost two years ago.
The Devils were able to get one back in the last half of the period, as Maxim Tsyplakov went short side high to cut the Flames lead in half. A few minutes later Jack Hughes got high-sticked, putting New Jersey on a four-minute power play with just over two minutes to go. Hughes got robbed of the tying goal by Dustin Wolf in the dying seconds of the period and so it remained 2-1 after one.
Period Two
After getting a few chances early on during the final half of the power play, it was the Flames who scored shorthanded. Johnny Beacher, who had one goal on the season coming into last night, scored his second of the game following a miscommunication between Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton at their own blue line. The Devils second unit got one back shortly after, as Luke Hughes made a nice play to cut to the net and Simon Nemec finished the play off.
The Flames extended their lead back to two in the final minutes of the second period. Another former Devil, Yegor Sharangovich, went upstairs on the backhand to make it 4-2 Flames. That was the score after two periods of play.
Period Three
The Devils started off the third period with a push to get back within one. That push was halted when a weak shot was sent toward the net by Mikael Backlund. Jacob Markström was slow to react, allowing the Flames’ fifth goal of the game, and putting them up by three.
Jack Hughes responded with about 10 minutes to go, but it was too little too late. A Luke Hughes tally with just four seconds to go only made the game look closer than it was. The Flames split the season series with the Devils, winning in New Jersey 5-4.
Game Notes
Riding the ‘Hot Hand’
Following two strong starts against the St Louis Blues and Florida Panthers, head coach Sheldon Keefe decided to start him in the second half of a back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs, claiming that he was the “hot hand” in net. In that game, he allowed three goals on 27 shots. Keefe started him again the next game against the New York Rangers. Given the fact it was game one of yet another back-to-back, and Markström had spectacular numbers against the cross-river rivals last season, this made sense.
When he gave up three goals on just 20 shots, was the only reason the Rangers were even in their game against the Devils, and still was trotted out the next night against the Red Wings, that’s when questions started to arise. After he allowed three goals on 30 shots Sunday night, and still got the start against the Flames, Sheldon Keefe could no longer fall on the excuse of Markström being hot. At this point, the one question for Keefe should be how cold is Jake Allen, who has not gotten any game action in two weeks.
Struggles Against the Flames
Following the Devils 5-4 loss last night, the Devils are 30-71-11 all time versus the Flames. That is the worst points percentage against any opponent in team history.
What’s Next
The Devils homestand continues Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings at 7:00 pm ET.