Both the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders entered Sunday’s matchup in desperate need of a critical two points in the standings as the season nears it’s conclusion. New Jersey scored first for the third time in four games, en route to a decisive 4-0 shutout over the Islanders.
Devils forwards Timo Meier and Jack Hughes stayed red hot, while Alexander Holtz continues to grow more confident. The Devils improved to 35-33-4, good for 74 points in the standings. With 10 games remaining, the Devils are now one point behind the Islanders in the standings, and five points back from the Washington Capitals, who leaped into the final wild card spot with their win Sunday.
Recap
First Period
The first period was full of penalties, with Devils defenseman Santeri Hatakka sitting for hooking New York’s Hudson Fasching at the 7:28 mark of the period. Erik Haula took a penalty at 9:26 for interfering with Islanders captain Anders Lee, which resulted in a two-second, five-on-three power play for the Islanders. Both penalties were killed successfully thanks to a strong early performance by Devils netminder Kaapo Kahkonen.
At 17:48, Bo Horvat took the Islanders first penalty of the night for holding the stick of Ondrej Palat. At 19:10, Cal Clutterbuck went off for cross-checking Nico Hischier, which resulted in a five-on-three power play for New Jersey. After killing off the Islanders first minor penalty, Casey Cizikas took a penalty for hooking Jack Hughes which put the Devils back on the 5-on-3 at 19:55.
Despite the penalties, the Islanders owned the shots advantage 13-6 after the horn sounded ending the period.
Second Period
The second period started with the Devils still on a five-on-three power play, and it didn’t take long for them to convert. Meier opened the scoring for New Jersey just 38 seconds into the second period with his power play goal off of a beautiful pass from Jack Hughes.
Just over two minutes later, the Devils were breaking out of their zone when there was a three Islanders players collided near the blue line. Dobson, Horvat and Palmieri collided, which sprung Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Meier on a three-on-one rush. Hughes ripped the puck past Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin at the 2:57 mark of the second period.
The Devils offense didn’t stop there. Later on in the second period, Simon Nemec won a puck battle along the boards while forechecking. He stripped the puck from two nearby Islanders defenders, skated the puck towards the net, and then passed to Holtz who was open at the side of the net. The cross-crease pass was rifled into the open cage past Sorokin to give the Devils a 3-0 lead.
While that was all the scoring for the second period, that was not the end of the action. At 16:48, Lee delivered a knee-on-knee hit to Hischier in the neutral zone. Immediately following, Meier went after Lee and the two dropped the gloves for a brief fight as Meier sought retribution for his injured captain. This fight completed the Gordie Howe hat trick for Meier, as he had a goal, assist, and fight in tonight’s tilt. It was the team’s first since February 23, 2016 where Sergei Kalinin fought JT Miller.
Lee was assessed a five minute major penalty for kneeing, as well as a game misconduct and five minutes for fighting. Meier was also issued a five minute major for fighting, two minute minor for instigating, and a 10-minute misconduct penalty. This resulted in two minutes of four-on-four play, and a three-minute Devils power play after the conclusion of the four-on-four.
The Devils did not convert on that opportunity. Shots in the second period were 17-10 in favor of New Jersey.
Third Period
The Islanders pressed to get on the board throughout the third period as the Kahkonen and the Devils defense held strong. Nemec took a penalty for tripping at 9:48 of the period, which was successfully killed off. Smith and Palmieri each went off for roughing at 13:42, resulting in four-on-four play.
Kahkonen made some great saves to preserve the shutout, stopping all 13 shots he faced in the third period and 36 shots in the game. It was his first shutout since November 29, 2022, and the team’s first shutout since March 12, 2023.
Game Notes
Flawless Goaltending
Kahkonen saved 4.09 goals above expected in all situations, per Natural Stat Trick, en route to the Devils first shutout win of the season. Since Kahkonen was acquired by New Jersey at the trade deadline, he has posted a 0.935 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.75 goals saved above expected (GSAx). He is also a perfect 18-for-18 stopping high-danger attempts.
Fellow netminder Jake Allen has also been great for New Jersey since his acquisition, posting a 0.923 SV% and 3.49 GSAx. The sample sizes are small, but this duo is proving that with League average goaltending or better, the team would likely have been in a playoff spot.
Power Play Stays Hot
With their power play goal Sunday, the Devils have power play goals in three of their last four games. The power play converting is getting their top players clicking and coming up big at key moments.
Stars Showing Up
Meier continued to have the hot hand for the Devils tonight as he tallied a goal, assist, and fight. Since March 1, he has 12 goals and 17 points in 13 games. Jack Hughes has also been shaking off his suspected injury that has been plaguing him for the last several weeks, as he found the scoresheet again tonight. He now has three goals and six points in his last five games.
What’s Next?
The Devils will travel to Canada and face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm ET.