The New Jersey Devils (40-29-7) swept a home-and-home from the Minnesota Wild (41-28-6) capped off by a 3-2 shootout victory on Monday night. The win gave the Devils a ten point lead in the playoff race, although they have played an extra two or three games over the teams in the chasing pack.
Game Summary
First Period
Minnesota started out aggressively, trying to avenge their home loss on Saturday, putting four early shots on Jacob Markstrom. However, the Swedish netminder was equal to them all, and the Devils quickly grew into the game.
It was Luke Hughes who ultimately opened the scoring, stepping down into the circle and wiring a wrister between Filip Gustavsson’s body and arm. Hughes’ seventh of the season made it 1-0 New Jersey with 7:30 to play.
The Devils had a chance to add-on with the game’s first power play after Jonas Brodin held Justin Dowling with 1:50 to go in the period. Minnesota killed off the bulk of the penalty, though, when the intermission buzzer sounded.
After one, shots were 10-7 in favor of New Jersey. The Devils posted a 44.44 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 26.03 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five.
Second Period
With just 10 seconds of carry-over power play time, New Jersey did not get established in the zone before Brodin’s penalty expired.
Minnesota had a power play of its own just a minute into the frame after Johnathan Kovacevic tripped Marcus Foligno. New Jersey killed it off with Markstrom making one big-time save on a Gustav Nyquist redirection in front.
Minnesota got another man advantage with nine minutes left in the period after a very questionable holding call on Brian Dumoulin on a Marcus Foligno partial breakaway. Justice was served though, when the Devils easily killed it off.
When the horn sounded for intermission, it was still 1-0 New Jersey. The Devils outshout the Wild 12-9 in the middle frame while posting a 65.12 CF% and a 60.14 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
Minnesota got the equalizer early in the third period when Vinnie Hinostroza deflected home a Jacob Middleton point shot. Hinostroza’s fifth of the year tied the game at one with 17:03 to play.
The Devils thought they immediately got the lead back after Brett Pesce’s shot popped over Gustavsson, but the Minnesota goaltender pinned the puck to his back just shy of the goal line. Toronto reviewed the play and confirmed the no goal call on the ice.
New Jersey did get the lead back, though, when Luke Hughes made a tremendous play to force a turnover at the offensive blue line after a Minnesota icing. Stefan Noesen picked up the loose puck and fired a beautiful back-door pass to Nico Hischier for a tap-in. Hischier’s fourth tally in two games against the Wild made it 2-1 Devils with 9:12 to play.
Moments later, Ryan Hartman was collared for hooking Timo Meier giving New Jersey got a second crack on the man advantage with nine minutes left. New Jersey had some good zone time on the power play. However, they only got one shot through to Gustavsson as Minnesota killed it off.
Despite stifling Minnesota down the stretch, the Wild found an equalizer with two minutes to go after a poor Brendan Dillon pass deflected off a forechecking Marcus Foligno right to Matt Boldy who was all alone in front. Boldly outwaited Jacob Markstrom and stashed home a backhander to tie the game at two.
After blowing the late lead, the Devils settled for overtime. In the third, shots were 10-5 Minnesota. The Devils registered a 35.29 CF% and a 25.39 xGF% at five-on-five in the final frame.
Overtime
New Jersey began the extra session with Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Luke Hughes, but it was Minnesota that controlled the opening draw.
The Devils thought they had won it when Nico Hischier set up Paul Cotter for a one-timer, but after review, Hischier was ruled to be offside.
Neither team could find a winner, so this one headed to a shootout. Shots in the extra frame were 3-1 Minnesota.
Shootout
Paul Cotter led things off for New Jersey. He tucked home his third shootout goal in four tries this season with a filthy backhand-forehand move.
Mats Zuccarello started off for Minnesota, but Jacob Markstrom made a tremendous stick save, making it 1-0 New Jersey after one round.
Jesper Bratt went second and undressed Gustavsson with his classic backhand top shelf move.
Matt Boldy had to score for Minnesota, but he rattled the crossbar as the Devils finally collected the extra point with a 2-0 shootout victory.
Wrap-Up
For the game, shots were 29-28 Minnesota while the Devils finished with a 49.56 CF% and a 41.29 xGF% at five-on-five.
Jacob Markstrom stopped 27-of-29 shots against and was not scored upon in the shootout. He turned aside 0.86 goals above expected in the win.
Game Notes
Johnathan Kovacevic
On a night where the Devils struggled in terms of xGF%, it was Johnathan Kovacevic that led the way for New Jersey. Kovacevic logged over 19 minutes of five-on-five ice time and finished with a 60.53 xGF%. He was the only Devils’ skater above a 50.00 xGF%.
New Jersey also dominated the scoring chance share with Kovacevic on the ice. The Devils had a 9-3 edge in scoring chances and a 2-0 edge in high-danger chances with Kovacevic on the ice.
Top Line Leads the Way
Head coach Sheldon Keefe kept the top line of Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Stefan Noesen together after an impressive performance on Monday. They once again made him look smart by leading the way for the New Jersey forward lines.
The trio finished with a 52.06 xGF% and a 2-0 edge in high-danger chances. That xGF% might not seem like a great number, but the next closest New Jersey line posted a 42.25 xGF%.
Of course, the top line also combined for a beautiful goal when Nico Hischier gave New Jersey the lead back in the third period. Sheldon Keefe needs this group to lead the way, and against Minnesota, they did.
Luke Hughes
Luke Hughes had an interesting night. He scored the opening goal with a nice wrister and made a tremendous play to set up the second goal. However, his underlying metrics were rather pedestrian.
Hughes finished with a 40.46 xGF% and an 11-7 edge in scoring chances. Hughes also posted a 3-2 edge in high-danger chances.
Despite the middle of the road xGF%, Hughes’ offensive spark was something the Devils desperately needed when Jack Hughes went down, and with eight points in his last five games, Luke has certainly provided that,
Fourth Line Struggles
One sour note for the Devils on Monday was the fourth line’s struggles at five-on-five. The trio of Paul Cotter, Curtis Lazar, and Daniel Sprong finished with a 15.73 xGF% and a 4-1 deficit in scoring chances.
Cotter made up for it with a beauty in the shootout, but don’t be surprised if Sheldon Keefe shuffles the deck before Saturday’s contest with the Rangers.
What’s Next
The Devils can rest up until Saturday when they wrap-up the season series with the New York Rangers at the Prudential Center. Puck drop is set for 12:30 pm ET exclusively on ABC and ESPN+.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.