Last night, the New Jersey Devils (46-20-8) lost to the New York Islanders, 5-1. The Devils stay three points behind Carolina in the race for the top of the division and lose crucial ground to the Rangers who are right on their tail. The loss was New Jersey’s 20th in regulation of the season.
Recap
Period One
The Devils came out looking speedy, but it resulted in an early goal for the Islanders as Vitek Vanecek stopped Kyle Palmieri on the breakaway, but couldn’t grab Pierre Engvall’s bid and the Islanders made it 1-0.
Both teams would get some good chances during the remainder of the period, but Vitek and Ilya Sorokin were up to the task.
Period Two
The Islanders dominated the second period, but the Devils were able to tie it. Erik Haula went in all alone and tucked home a shorthanded goal to even things up.
Shortly after Haula scored the tying goal, Palmieri would skate laps around the Devils fourth line and finish on the backhand to put the Islanders back on top. The score would be 2-1 heading into the locker room.
Period Three
The Devils controlled play for a majority of the third but couldn’t beat Ilya Sorokin. A play off Tatar’s skate entered the net but immediately was called off.
With under five to go two unfortunate plays from Ondrej Palat led to another Palmieri goal and a 3-1 defecit. The home team would add on two more into empty nets and end up taking the game 5-1.
Game Notes
Palmieri’s Performance
The Devils traded Kyle Palmieri to the Islanders in the spring of 2021, since then, he hasn’t quite been the same player. That changed last night against his former team as he collected a pair of goals and an assist.
On top of his traditional statistics he held a 77.78 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and 77.88 expected goals percentage (xG%). It was certainly a special night for the former Devil.
Home Ice in the Playoffs
If the Devils want to head into the playoffs with home ice advantage, they’re most likely going to have to beat their biggest rivals in the New York Rangers on Thursday. The Prudential Center is going to be packed with fans from both sides so it could be a preview of a playoff series between the two teams.
Next Up
The aforementioned huge game against the New York Rangers on Thursday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET at the Prudential Center.