Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
The clinching of a playoff berth will have to wait. The New Jersey Devils were destroyed by the Boston Bruins Tuesday night. The Bruins left Newark with a 7-2 victory, and the Devils are now 0-12-2 when trying to win their fourth game in a row.
Game Recap
First Period
The Devils had their chances early with the power play, but could not capitalize. Instead, it was the Bruins the rest of the way and saw them take a 2-0 lead.
The first goal was scored none other than David Pastrnak. After the Devils turned over the puck to him, he skated into the zone uncontested and ripped a shot past Jacob Markstrom to take the lead. The second goal came towards the tail end of the period. Pastrnak skated along the boards and fed a pass cross ice to Parker Wotherspoon, who found Michael Callahan for his first goal of the season. The Devils took a 2-0 deficit into the second period.
When it came to gameplay itself, the Bruins held the edge in shot attempts (20-17) and managed to outshoot the Devils 10-6. Neither team could muster up much of quality chances and it was a very low event period at five-on-five. The Bruins held the slight edge in expected goals (0.38-0.33).
Second Period
The second period picked up where the first ended, with a Bruins goal. 3:45 into the period, Jakub Lauko skated in on an odd man rush and ripped a shot past Markstrom to further extend their lead. Finally, the Devils grabbed momentum and clawed their way back into this game.
The Devils scored two goals in a row and less than a minute apart. On a delayed penalty, the Devils went to work with the extra attacker. Nico Hischier fed a pass down to Daniel Sprong who sent a backhanded pass to Stefan Noesen for the beautiful tap in goal. 20 seconds later, Timo Meier got his 25th of the year and off a funky bounce. An Erik Haula shot bounced off him and into the net.
Momentum was on their side, until the Bruins responded at the end of the period with a goal of their own. Casey Mittelstadt scored to make it 4-2 and once again the Devils found themselves down by two goals heading into the next period.
Despite the team being down at the end of the period, the Devils played a better period. The Devils out-attempted the Bruins in this period and pushed the pace. The shots on goal were quite close during five-on-five, but the Devils put forth a more dominant period with 0.9 expected goals compared to the Bruins 0.4.
Third Period
This third period was all Bruins and they managed to run away with the game. Within a six minute span, they scored three goals and separated themselves from the Devils. Pastrnak went on to feed a cross-ice pass through everyone to have Morgan Geekie tap it into the net. Two minutes later, an Andrew Peeke shot was deflected and caused a rebound, where Fraser Minten picked it up and fired a shot top shelf over Markstrom. Cole Koepke landed the dagger, splitting the defense and scoring on Markstrom to make it 7-2.
Game Notes
- Jacob Markstrom certainly had a game to forget. He allowed all seven goals and finished with a .696 save percentage as well as a -5.42 goals saved above expected.
- One of the more effective Devils lines was the fourth line. Paul Cotter, Cody Glass, and Sprong had a Corsi-for percentage of 73.33 and was the only line not to get outshot.
What’s Next?
The Devils’ homestand continues Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.