The New Jersey Devils (31-12-4) came from behind yet again to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights (29-17-3) 3-2 in overtime. This was the fourth-straight game the Devils have required the extra session or more with the Devils winning three of those contests.
With the win, the Devils are 7-0-1 in their last eight games and pulled into a tie atop the Metropolitan Division, albeit with one more game played than the Hurricanes.
Game Summary
First Period
After a sluggish game on Sunday, the Devils started quickly in this one. Ondrej Palat got the Devils on the board just four minutes in when his shot deflected up and over Logan Thompson. It was Palat’s fourth goal of the season, and his first since returning from injury in early-January.
After the goal, though, Vegas gained control of the game, building a 10-4 advantage on shot attempts. However, none of those chances were particularly troubling for Vitek Vanecek, who kept the Golden Knights off the board. In the back half of the period, the Devils completely took control, creating several good looks. Despite the chances, New Jersey could not beat Thompson again, ending the frame with a 1-0 lead after having the better of the play.
After 1, shot attempts were 15-10 in favor of the Devils with NJ posting a 55.32 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 68.25 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five.
Second Period
In the second period, the Knights went to an early power play after Nathan Bastian boarded Keegan Kolesar, and proceeded to drop the gloves with Brett Howden. However, the Devils killed the man advantage of easily, allowing no shots. The Devils couldn’t seize control of the game afterwards. Michael Amadio had a golden opportunity in the slot, but Vanecek robbed him from sneaking the puck five-hole.
The next big chance fell to Vegas as well. Defenseman Nicolas Hague walked the line and found Ben Hutton who sniped the puck home short side over Vanecek’s shoulder, tying the game at one with eight minutes to go in the second. Then, three minutes later, William Karlsson stashed home a rebound off a nice move from Jonathan Marchessault.
The Devils had a late surge, but again could not beat Thompson. The Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead to the second intermission. In the second period, shots were 10-8 in favor of Vegas while NJ had a 47.06 CF% and a 45.68 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
Needing a goal in the final frame, the Devils started out on the front foot. Dawson Mercer had a glorious opportunity in front, but fired wide. Despite the hot start, Vegas did a good job clogging up the game at the blue line and found chances in transition. Vitek Vanecek was forced into several good saves to keep the deficit at one, including a nice stop on Rielly Smith on a late Vegas power play.
After the penalty kill, though, the Devils hemmed the Golden Knights in over the final five minutes. Despite that pressure, however, New Jersey had trouble getting set up in the offensive zone. Jack Hughes was stopped off a Vegas turnover, but the Devils still needed a goal.
Vitek Vanecek headed to the bench for an extra skater with just under two minutes to go, and eventually, the Devils got set up in the zone. Dougie Hamilton fired a wrister that deflected off a defenseman in front and past Thompson, tying the game with 1:10 to go. In the final minute, a Damon Severson shot deflected off the crossbar, and the Devils headed to overtime for a fourth-straight game.
In the third period, shots were 10-9 in favor of Vegas, but the Devils put up a 66.67 CF% and a 72.71 xGF% at five-on-five.
Overtime
Overtime began fairly slowly with both teams emphasizing puck possession. However, with just over two minutes to go in the extra frame, Yegor Sharangovich was hauled down by Ben Hutton and the Devils went to the man advantage for the first time.
Vegas managed to kill the first minute of the four-on-three, but then, Jack Hughes danced down the wall and slid a blind pass to the slot while being pinned to the boards. The pass went directly to the tape of Dougie Hamilton who blasted a one-timer past Logan Thompson for a second overtime game-winning goal in as many games for Hamilton.
Wrap Up
Dougie Hamilton stole the headlines on Tuesday with the game-tying and game-winning goals. His two goal night brings his season total to 13, only five goals shy of his career-high. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt both tallied two assist nights as well.
In net for NJ, Vitek Vanecek stopped 28 of 30 shots and saved 0.23 goals above expected. Vanecek is now on a personal eight-game win streak.
For Vegas, no skaters registered a multi-point night while six had one point. In net, Logan Thompson took a tough loss, stopping 33 of 36 shots and saving 0.12 goals above expected.
For the game, the Devils outshot the Golden Knights 36-30 and NJ had a 55.86 CF% and a 61.84 xGF% at five-on-five.
Game Notes
Dougie Hamilton
Aside from the obvious of scoring two crucial goals, Dougie Hamilton had a fantastic night. The 29-year-old defenseman had the second-highest xGF% (78.92) on Devils at five-on-five. His 61.36 CF% also paced Devils’ defensemen. This was very encouraging to see from Hamilton who had just a 48.07 CF% and a 40.63 xGF% in the ten games since the start of January.
Meanwhile, Hamilton is closing in on a career-year with his counting numbers. With three goals and four points in the last two contests, Hamilton has 13 goals and 29 assists for 42 points in 47 games. His best career marks are 18 goals and 50 points. It has been a phenomenal bounce back season for the 2021 Devils’ marquee free agent signing, and the past two games have only cemented that.
Damon Severson
As DAB’s own James Villani pointed out on Twitter, it was another very solid night for Damon Severson. The 2012 second-round pick logged nearly 27 minutes of ice time and posted a 63.31 xGF% and an 11-3 edge in high-danger scoring chances.
This has become a trend, not an outlier for Severson. In the past five contests, Severson is averaging over 25 minutes of ice time with his lowest TOI clocking in at 24:58 against Los Angeles. In the 15 games since John Marino was placed on injured reserve, Severson leads the Devils in five-on-five and all strengths ice time by a wide margin. The 28-year-old is averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per game. Dougie Hamilton is second at just under 23.
Moreover, during that span, Severson has paced Devils defensemen with a 50.06 xGF% at five-on-five. Throw in an overtime winner against the Rangers and Severson has proven to be a vital part of this Devils team.
Late Game Heroics
In New Jersey’s first 43 games of the season, the Devils had scored just one six-on-five goal late in a game. That was a Jack Hughes tally against the Islanders just before his NHL record 6:02 shift that cut a 6-3 deficit to a 6-4 deficit that would ultimately hold up.
However, in the last four, the Devils have struck three times with their own goalie pulled to tie a game late. While New Jersey did not trail often in a scorching-hot November, they had numerous opportunities to score six-on-five in December, but could not do so. In fact, the Devils allowed four goals into their own empty net in December alone.
However, things have certainly changed in that regard in the past week, finding three last minute equalizers. Even more impressive is that the Devils have gone on to win two of those three games in overtime or a shootout. Those are five valuable points that may be crucial come the end of the regular season.
What’s Next
The Devils head back on the road for a back-to-back in Nashville and Dallas starting Thursday night. Puck drop against the Predators is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET. The game will be shown on MSGSN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.