Despite a strong effort, the New Jersey Devils (27-23-2, 6th Metropolitan) fell 4-2 to the Seattle Kraken (23-19-9, 6th Pacific) Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena.

First Period

It was an even start to the game, with both teams getting good shifts and opportunities in the first few minutes. The Devils got the first man advantage of the night when Shane Wright got called for high-sticking. They broke the ice first in the dying seconds of the power play when Nico Hischier, working below the goal, found Dougie Hamilton on the hashes. Hamilton, a hot hand as of late, snapped a one-timer past Joey Daccord to give the Devils the lead. 

Things got chippy a couple of minutes later when Dawson Mercer and Ryan Lindgren dropped the gloves. Both got five minutes for fighting, while Mercer wore the instigator penalty. The Devils’ kill was as effective as ever, keeping Seattle off the board on their first power play of the night.

The Kraken kept the pressure on after the power play, generating good chances. Jamie Oleksiak halted that momentum when he got sent off for high-sticking. New Jersey’s power play didn’t last long because Dougie Hamilton quickly got called for interference, creating an extended four-on-four. Neither team broke through despite the extra space on the ice, and neither team could find much space after the power play. 

The Kraken got another power play at the end of the period on a Paul Cotter high stick, which would straddle the first and second periods. The Devils spent much of the period on special teams, but they played Seattle to an even Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 50 at five-on-five.

Second Period

The Devils killed off the remainder of Cotter’s penalty and quickly went on the attack with a couple of strong shifts. It would be Seattle, however, who snatched the momentum with a goal a few minutes into the period. Ryker Evans tipped the original shot, and it took a funky bounce in front of the net, where it deflected off a Devils player, causing it to squeak by Jacob Markström.

New Jersey came back with some strong shifts in the offensive zone after the goal. They got prime scoring opportunities on another power play off a Jacob Melanson holding call. The Devils battled for a goal in a net-front scramble, with Nico Hischier nearly poking it in, but they failed to capitalize on the power play.

The Devils maintained their strong play during the rest of the period, but could not retake the lead. They would go into the locker room tied despite notching a 67.8 expected goal percentage (xG%) in the second frame.

Third Period

The Kraken went back on the power play a couple of minutes into the third period when Ondrej Palat went to the box for hooking. The Devils’ penalty kill held firm yet again, keeping them within a goal. But it all unraveled a few minutes later with a pair of quick Seattle goals.

Matty Beniers scored first, receiving a tap pass from Jordan Eberle, dangling the puck in a smooth motion from his forehand to his backhand, and roofing it over Markström. Berkly Catton scored next, driving hard to the net and tucking it in while being checked along the post.

The Devils stopped the bleeding after a sloppy couple of shifts and got a much-needed power play opportunity soon after on a Brandon Montour slashing penalty. Jack Hughes capitalized on the chance, receiving the puck from Dougie Hamilton along the boards and wristing it off a Kraken’s leg and in to cut Seattle’s lead to 3-2.

New Jersey kept the pressure on as time wound down, but couldn’t tie the game. Head coach Sheldon Keefe pulled Markstrom with minutes remaining, but Eberle scored the empty-netter to ice the game.

Results

A bad few minutes cost the Devils a game that they controlled most of the time. New Jersey came away with a 63.1 CF% and a 68.39 xG% at five-on-five, two power play goals, and four penalty kills, but all they couldn’t stop themselves from making mistakes on high-danger plays. The loss ends a three-game win streak, representing a sour end to an overall strong western road trip.

Game Notes

• Dougie Hamilton had a strong game for himself, tallying a goal and an assist. He’s been on a heater since he was benched on January 11 against Winnipeg, with one goal and eight assists over this stretch. 
• The Devils went 4-for-4 on penalty kills Sunday, continuing a strong recent stretch of play from the penalty kill unit. The Devils have raised their success rate on the penalty kill to 78.3% after a rough first half of the season.
• Jacob Markström has once again taken one step forward and two steps back. He’s been unreliable in two games since a strong outing in Calgary, with an .840 save percentage since then.

Up Next

The Devils will come home to face the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.