The struggles in the second of a back-to-back sets continue for the New Jersey Devils. After losing Saturday afternoon to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Devils lost to the Ottawa Senators, 2-1, on Sunday. The Devils are now winless in their last four games. 

Game Recap 

First Period 

This period was scoreless, however, it was one of the best periods the Devils have played this season. They dictated the pace of the period and took the attack to the Senators. It was the response the Devils needed after their loss yesterday.

During five-on-five play, the Devils out-attempted the Senators 28-7 and outshot them 13-2. Senators goalie Anton Forsberg stood tall and finished with 1.43 goals saved above expected. The offensive generation was evident for the Devils, but the lack of finishing was not present. 

Second Period 

The second period saw both teams trade goals, but it was the Senators who drew first blood. After the Senators dug the puck out from along the side wall, Zack Ostapchuk fired a shot from the faceoff circle that beat Jacob Markstrom short side. A minute later, the Devils tied the game. Entering the zone, Tomas Tatar sent a pass over to Curtis Lazar, who sent a pass to the slot to Tatar who cashed in on a rebound. The score would remain this way the rest of the period and both teams headed to the third period tied at one. 

This period was the polar opposite of the first period for the Devils. The Senators controlled the pace of the period and held the edge in shot attempts 24-12. The shots on goal were closer, but the Senators made sure to generate more scoring chances and led by a wide margin in that regard (11-3). It was a much lower event period for the Devils, as they generated 0.33 expected goals compared to the Senators’ 0.93. 

Third Period 

The third period was where the Senators grabbed the lead and never looked back. After picking up the loose puck in the corner, Shane Pinto fed a pass to defenseman Artem Zub who fired it past Markstrom to make it 2-1. The period saw little push back from the Devils and the Senators never looked back. They held on and won the game 2-1.

This is a period that the Devils never controlled and never pushed back in. The Senators were the better team during five-on-five play and held the Devils to just four shot attempts. Also, the Devils registered one shot on goal at five-on-five and generated 0.12 expected goals. For a team that needed the extra goal, they did little to get it. 

Game Notes

• The Devils offensive generation was low event this game. Despite the 1.43 outburst for expected goals, the Devils generated just 0.49 in the final two periods. The Devils inability to finish has also been evident through the last two games, scoring just two goals. 

• Among Forwards, Dawson Mercer had a strong game. He finished with the best Corsi-for percentage (CF%) at 65.22 and finished with an expected goals percentage (xGF%) of 63.63. The puck was in the Devils favor with him on the ice, results just weren’t there. 

What’s Next? 

The Devils hit the ice Wednesday Night against the Boston Bruins at Prudential Center.