Another late night game and another victory for the now 28-12-3 Devils. Jack Hughes logged his 53rd and 54th point, Erik Haula scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood had a strong performance between the pipes. All in all, it was a solid 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings and now makes five wins in the last six games for New Jersey.
First Period
It wasn’t the start the Devils were hoping for, as the Kings leading point scorer Kevin Fiala opened the game with a power play goal 6:30 into the first period. Fiala ended up being the forgotten man and was able to cut to the back post completely uncovered, setting himself up for the easy tap in goal.
New Jersey would answer with a power play goal of their own, courtesy of Tomas Tatar. After the puck was whipped around the blue line, Jack Hughes positioned himself to make sure his shot got through to Jonathan Quick. Quick was able to come up with the initial save. Though, Tatar was there waiting to clean up the scraps for his 10th goal of the season.
Second Period
Things really fell apart for Quick in the second period. It all started with an Erik Haula far-side snipe. A savvy outlet pass by Dawson Mercer sent Haula and Jesper Boqvist in on the two-on-one. Then, Haula let the wrist shot fly and beat Quick blocker side to give the Devils’ the 2-1 lead.
Anze Kopitar would answer on the power play just four minutes later to tie the game. Kopitar planted himself in front of Blackwood and was left unattended. This gave him plenty of room to redirect the Drew Doughty shot from the point and beat Blackwood.
The game wouldn’t remain tied for long, thanks to what can only be described as a happy accident for Nikita Okhotiuk. Okhotiuk took the drop pass from Ondrej Palat and skated towards the left circle. He then threw a harmless wrist shot towards the net that Quick completely misplayed. It wound up in the back of the net for New Jersey’s third goal of the game.
Not to be outdone, Ryan Graves decided to get in on the ‘throw stuff at the net and see what happens’ party and got rewarded for his efforts. Graves one-timer attempt from the point was seemingly just a shot for a rebound or to get the puck in the crease. However, it ended up bouncing off of Fiala and then a Kings’ defender in front before ultimately landing in the back of the net. It did take a while to decipher whether or not Nico Hischier redirected it, but Graves ultimately was awarded with the goal.
Third Period
Outside of a massive Blackwood save on the Kevin Fiala penalty shot, the third period was a bit more clogged up than the first 40 minutes. Jesper Bratt would add to his All-Star resume by putting home the empty netter to ice the game at 5-2.
Takeaways
- It may not have been the prettiest game at times. Though, the Devils ultimately capitalized on a poor opposing goaltender and skated away with a very important two points. Quick had a negative goals saved above expected (GSAx).
- Mackenzie Blackwood played a stellar game and really had no chance on either of the goals scored by the Kings. He posted a 1.56 GSAx and saved 35 of 37 shots.
- Jack Hughes continues his 100-plus point pace with a two-point performance. It’s almost becoming normal to see him post a multi-point games at this point.
- The Devils now are 5-1-1 in the month of January. As a result, they sit just two points back of Carolina for first in the Metropolitan Division.
What’s up Next
The West Coast trip continues as the Devils head out to San Jose on Monday to take on the 13-23-8 Sharks. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 P.M. ET.