There is one thing the New Jersey Devils (36-36-4) have struggled to do and that is win the second of the back-to-back set. After a crushing defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins the night before, the Devils followed it up with a loss to the Nee York Rangers.
The Rangers have had their number this year and completed the season sweep on Wednesday. This is the closest the Devils have been in these contests in terms of scoreboard, but a lot of the game certainly favored the Rangers. This loss also puts a damper on whatever playoff hopes they had left.
Game Recap
First Period
This game started with all the fireworks. The fists came out flying, as there was a line brawl right when the puck dropped. Kurtis Macdermid and Matt Rempe got the scrap out of the way and eight players combined were tossed from the game. Shortly after, another fight was underway, as Dawson Mercer stood up for a dirty hit thrown by Will Cuylle.
It took until the middle of the period, but the Rangers scored the first goal. A loose puck found Alexis Lafreniere, who slid a pass over to Artemi Panarin for the easy goal. Towards the end of the period, the Rangers scored again and on the powerplay. The puck deflected off Luke Hughes stick and slid under Kahkonen’s pad and Alexis Lafreniere tapped it in to make it 2-0. The horn would sound and that’s how the teams would head to the second period.
The period was rarely played at five in five but when it was the Devils got outplayed. The Rangers held the edge in shot attempts (20-9) and outshot the Devils (13-3). The puck was never on their sticks and the Rangers controlled the expected goals share at 93.57% in the period.
Second Period
This period was all Devils on the scoreboard. The period saw an early goal and it belonged to the Devils. With a nifty deke at the blue line, Jack Hughes slid a puck to Ondrej Palat who buried it past Igor Shesterkin to cut the deficit.
At the midway mark of the period the Devils would tie the game. After the Rangers sustained good offensive pressure, a good defensive play by Jesper Bratt spurned the attack. A pass by Timo Meier found Brendan Smith, who fired one off the post to tie the game at two. The third goal would be score 90 seconds later. A gorgeous pass by Jesper Bratt found an open Nico Hischier for the go ahead goal. The period would end with the Devils in front 3-2.
The Devils pushed the pace this period and had better possession. They held a slight edge in shot attempts (17-16) but were outshot 10-7 during five on five play. The Devils were dominant in high-danger attempts (7-2) and held the edge in the expected goals share 1.1-0.36.
Third Period
After some heavy bleeding in the second period by the Rangers they slowed it down with a goal of their own. Off a broken stick by Luke Hughes, Kaapo Kakko skated in and ripped a shot past Kappo Kakhonen. The pace would be pushed back and forth but the Rangers would end of scoring the game winner late in the final frame. An Adam Fox shot got deflected by Chris Kreider to make it 4-3. The horn would sound and the Devils would suffer defeat 4-3.
Wrap Up
This was a physical and scrappy start to the game, as eight players got tossed. The Rangers went on to complete the season series sweep, out-scoring the Devils 17-8. The Devils got big goals in the second period from Palat, Smith, and Hischier. Kahkonen suffered his second loss to the Rangers since being a member of the Devils.
Game Notes
- When it came down to it, the better team won the hockey game. As close it the Devils made it, the Rangers outplayed the Devils and were better in all facets of the hockey game. At five-on-five, they controlled the pace of the game and finished with a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 61.86 and outshot the Devils 34-17. They got better looks offensively and controlled the expected goals share (2.5-1.43).
- Kappo Kahkonen played slightly under his expected rate. He faced a plethora of chances and shots on goal but finished with a -0.77 goals saved above expected. However, he did finish the game with a .902 save percentage.
What’s Next?
The Devils travel to take on the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
All statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.