After a tough shutout loss to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, the New Jersey Devils (16-8-2) put up a strong win against the Detroit Red Wings (10-11-2) in a Black Friday matinee. It was a seesaw game that saw multiple lead changes and momentum swings.
First Period
The Devils came out of the gate on the back foot, allowing the Red Wings multiple shifts in the offensive zone. Then, Brenden Dillon took a silly penalty when he cross checked Michael Rasmussen, who scored an empty net goal then taunted Jack Hughes the last time the two teams met.
New Jersey successfully killed off most of the penalty without allowing any high-danger chances but it did not matter when Vladamir Tarasenko patiently waited for Brett Pesce to drift out of his shooting lane and snap the puck home.
Jonathan Kovacevic finally dropped the gloves with Rasmussen after the goal to get the pleasantries out of the way. New Jersey struggled to get set up for much of the period and bled plenty of chances to Detroit. Lucas Raymond capitalized on this pressure midway through the period, wrapping around the Devils’ goal and deflecting the puck in off Jacob Markstrom’s shoulder pad.
The Devils finally woke up after the second goal. Jacob Markstrom made a couple of good saves to help spring the offense. New Jersey played three or four good shifts in the offensive zone before they finally drew a penalty on a Justin Holl hold.
The Devils set a nice screen immediately after the faceoff, allowing Dougie Hamilton to glide into the slot and snipe it bar down past Cam Talbot. Detroit challenged the goal on goaltender interference grounds but the call stood, sending the Devils to another power play.
They also capitalized on the second power play, with Timo Meier sending a missile of a slapshot past Talbot from the near circle. The Devils finished the period with good momentum, but Ondrej Palat got called for holding late in the frame, leading to a penalty kill that would roll over into the next period.
Detroit controlled five-on-five play to start the game but New Jersey seized control back as the period went along. They went into the locker room with a 58.33 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 48.51 expected goal percentage (xG%).
Second Period
New Jersey effectively killed off the remaining penalty but got some bad luck as Tyler Motte made a great play to tip a Ben Chiarot shot past a helpless Markstrom to give the Red Wings their second lead of the day.
Detroit controlled the momentum after this goal, generating some nice chances in the Devils’ zone. Timo Meier got called for slashing at the 6:04 mark, giving the Red Wings their third power play of the day. New Jersey notched another successful kill and finally got the momentum back. They spent shift after shift buzzing in Detroit’s zone threatening to tie the game.
Nico Hischier did just that, receiving a pass from Timo Meier, who stole the puck from Ben Chiarot, and scoring a slot shot.
Minutes later, Stefan Noesan gave the Devils the lead with a goal that got deflected off his leg by a Detroit defender. The Devils spent the rest of the period in Detroit’s zone as line after line got their looks. Luke Hughes almost scored as chaos ensued at the net but Talbot stoned him. The period ended with a Ben Chiarot high stick on Nico Hischier which drew blood, giving the Devils a four-minute power play to start the third period.
The Devils had a much better all-around second period, posting a 73.47 CF% and an 86.13 xG% af five-on-five.
Third Period
The Devils kept the puck in the offensive zone for much of the first half of the power play but couldn’t get a clean shooting lane. The Red Wings came back at them in the second half of the power play, forcing New Jersey to reenter the zone a couple of times.
Jack Hughes ended the charade with a minute left in the man advantage, wristing a shot above Talbot’s right shoulder with Noesen screening in front of the net.
Justin Holl responded quickly with a redirected goal to bring the Red Wings back within one. The Devils would not have the insurance goal they desperately wanted.
But they wouldn’t end up needing that insurance goal because they were able to lock it down defensively through to the end of the game. The Devils allowed 11 shots compared to the six they allowed in the second period but Jacob Markstrom made some huge sprawling saves to maintain the lead. The Red Wings threatened to tie it late with the goalie pulled but New Jersey played some solid defense and Markstrom made some clutch saves to ice the game.
The Devils played at a much lower key in the third but still got the job done. They posted a 48.28 CF% and a 55.77 xG%.
Results
If the Devils were hoping for a quiet game the day after Thanksgiving, they got exactly the opposite. It was a back-and-forth affair that kept both teams on their toes for the whole game. Despite the excitement, the Devils kept their composure throughout the game and calmly came back from down two. That momentum will be important going into the second game of their back-to-back against Washington.
The Devils are now 16-8-2 and sit first in the Metropolitan Division with 34 points. The Red Wings, on the other hand, are 10-11-2 and sit sixth in the Atlantic with 22 points.
Game Notes
- Five different Devils scored in the win, and they were exactly who you’d expect. Timo Meier. Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, and Stefan Noesen contributed goals with Meier, Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Hamilton also notching assists.
- New Jersey won this game on the power play, scoring three of their five goals with the man advantage. The special teams were mismatched last night, with the Devils’ third-ranked power play going up against the worst penalty kill in the league. They also scored three power-play goals against the Wings when they played in October.
- Jacob Markstrom had an odd game, but one he would want back. He made more than a few timely saves that kept the Devils in front but couldn’t read the Wings for most of the night. He finished with a .857 save percentage and -1.78 goals saved above expected.
- Tomas Tatar exited with a lower-body injury in the first period after logging an assist. The Devils are quickly running out of depth forwards with Nathan Bastian, Curtis Lazar, and now Tatar out of action. Shane Bowers will slot into the lineup if Tatar can’t go tonight against Washington.
Up Next
The Devils will travel back home to face Washington in the second game of a back-to-back Saturday at 7:00 pm ET.