The New Jersey Devils (32-32-4) visited the Vegas Golden Knights for a Sunday matinee against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, but left with a stinging 3-1 defeat. Jake Allen was phenomenal in goal, stopping 34 of 36 shots faced to keep his new team in the game on multiple occasions. The rest of the team struggled to show up on the tail end of their road trip.

Game Recap

First Period

The Devils took to this game looking to jump to an early lead, and that they did, or so they thought. Timo Meier put on a power move and he drove the puck to the net, and in the ensuing scramble, his rebound banker off the skate of Dawson Mercer and into the net at 1:44 of the first period. The play was reviewed for a kicking motion and ruled a good goal, but was then challenged by Vegas for goaltender interference. That challenge was successful as Meier had ended up tripping over Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson which knocked him off balance, and thus the early goal came off the board.

After that, the teams traded some chances with the Golden Knights controlling most of the play. The horn sounded ending the first period with the two teams tied at zero. The Devils put up seven shots on goal in the first period, to the Golden Knights 13.

Second Period

The second period also saw no goals, but the Devils continued to get more of the goaltending they had been desperate for all season as Allen stopped all 11 shots he faced through the middle frame. New Jersey again put up just seven shots on goal in this period. The teams headed to their locker rooms after the second period still tied up at zero.

Third Period

The Devils got off to an early start in the third period, with Jesper Bratt taking the puck in from the left wing and putting a shot on net that trickled through Thompson, but was cleared from the blue paint. Fortunately for New Jersey, the puck found its way to the stick of Devils captain Nico Hischier, who took advantage of a slightly out of position Thompson and put the puck between his legs to open the scoring just 38 seconds into the third period.

The Devils’ lead would be short-lived, however, as William Carrier got the Golden Knights on the board 2:21 later. Noah Hanifin drove the net and collected his own rebound, taking it around the net before feeding a pass to Alex Pietrangelo. He fired a shot that was tipped by Carrier in front of Allen, and we were tied up.

Just past the midway mark of the period, Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel skated unchallenged through center ice, crossed the Devils blue line with the defenders backing off, and put a shot on net that beat Allen clean to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead at 11:06.

In spite of a few good attempts, the Devils couldn’t generate much sustained offense and pulled their netminder with about two minutes remaining in the game. William Karlsson would go on to deposit the puck into the empty net to seal the game at 3-1. The Devils again put up just seven shots in a hotly contested third period, while Vegas put up 13.

Wrap Up

The Devils were disappointed again on the second half of a back-to-back, and despite a glorious opportunity to advance in the standings, they fell flat. Final shots on goal were 37-21 in favor of the hometown Golden Knights.

Allen was outstanding in goal, while Meier and Hischier continued to look good in the offensive zone.

What’s Next?

We’re heading back to New Jersey as the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Prudential Center on Tuesday night. That game can be seen locally on MSG starting at 7:00 pm ET.