The New Jersey Devils were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in their final divisional game of the season. The Devils are 40-36-3 on the season.
Recap
First Period
After seven consecutive shots to begin the first period for New Jersey, including a post from Timo Meier, it was the Penguins who scored first. A nice cross-ice feed from Egor Chinakhov led to a wide-open net for Penguins forward Bryan Rust. The veteran forward’s 29th goal of the season was the only one of the opening frame.
Second Period
The Devils responded in the second as Paul Cotter found himself on a breakaway. As per usual, Cotter put a nice shot on Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner and tied the game.
The tie didn’t last for long, however, as Tommy Novak and Egor Chinakhov both scored nine seconds apart to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead.
It was the Devils’ superstar, though, that pushed them back into the game. After dancing around at the top, Hughes threw a shot on net that deflected in top corner past Skinner. Hughes’ 14th goal since the Olympic break pulled the Devils within one as we headed into the final frame.
Third Period
The Devils hunted for the equalizer to begin the period but came up empty against Skinner.
Eventually, the Penguins veterans came through with the insurance. Sidney Crosby got Jake Allen down, and a scramble in the crease led to Evgeni Malkin poking it in. The 39-year-old forward’s 19th of the year made it 4-2.
The Devils pulled Jake Allen with over three minutes left but couldn’t generate many chances. Finally, Erik Karlsson hit the empty net from long range to cap off a 5-2 Penguins victory.
Game Notes
Divisional Struggles
Thursday night’s loss to the Penguins was the Devils’ final divisional matchup of the season. Throughout the 82-game campaign, New Jersey finished with an abysmal 7-17-2 record against divisional teams. It’s fair to say that with a better record against teams in their division, the Devils would still be playing meaningful hockey.
Jack Point Per Game?
After scoring just 52 points in his first 117 games, Jack Hughes has now scored 371 points in his last 308 games and sits on the precipice of becoming a career point-per-game player in the NHL. With Hughes currently sitting at 423 points in 425 career games, it’s not crazy to think he can reach it by the end of the season.
What’s Next
The Devils will begin the front half of a back-to-back as they head to Detroit to take on the Red Wings on Saturday.