Match Summary
Just like the title says, this game was unbearingly boring. In the pregame, I predicted a defensively-oriented contest, and the Devils and Islanders kept this theme.
The final score, 2-1, a low score, doesn’t even really reflect the stinginess of the defense. Both of the Islander goals came off low-quality chances while the Devils’ only goal came in garbage time. Semyon Varlamov got the win, narrowly missing the shutout.
First Period
Not much to say about his period, both teams felt each other out. The Islanders controlled much of the pressure, but the Devils’ defense held firm. Goaltender Aaron Dell made some nice saves, keeping the score tied at zero going into the intermission.
Second Period
The Devils spent six minutes on the powerplay in this period and went 0-3. I’ll talk more about this later, but this was a huge detriment to morale. Especially, for a young, potent team like the Devils. Otherwise, the teams traded chances but nothing went through, the score stayed at zero going into the third.
Third Period
Early in the third, Oliver Wahlstrom opened the scoring with a quick-wrister that went over the glove of Aaron Dell. Things didn’t get any better as the Devils couldn’t get quality shots off for much of the period.
An Anders Lee goal made it 2-0 going into the final minutes of the game. Pulling the goalie early, the Devils scored a garbage-time goal courtesy of Miles Wood, but couldn’t tie the game.
Results
As mentioned previously, this game was exceptionally dull, though the Devils’ locker room probably wasn’t after the game. The failing Devils have now lost six of their last seven games and are spiraling out of control.
The offense has shut down, demonstrating the volatility of the young team. The Devils are now 7-9-2, good for seventh in the East division. The Islanders are 12-6-4, tied for first with the Washington Capitals.
I’m being quite harsh on the Devils in this particular game, but it is important to remember that no one expected them to be a playoff team and that they are supposed to be a “rebuilding team,” but frustration mounts in a losing streak.
Keys to the Game
A Game of Chess
“What do chess and hockey have in common,” you may ask. In both scenarios, it is imperative that one control the middle of the board, or in this case, the ice, in order to succeed. That’s exactly what the Islanders did, and what the Devils didn’t do.
For New Jersey, this resulted in lots of point shots, very few rebounds, and many passes up the boards. This made the Devils slow and the scoring chances low-quality. There wasn’t really anything a young team like the Devils could have done about this against a defensively-stout team like the Isles.
The Defense
Though New Jersey lost, when all is said and done, the defense played a solid game against New York. They limited the Isles to just 20 shots. Furthermore, their goals came only on low-quality chances. Analytically, the Devils boasted a goal share of about 53%, not bad at all. In a tough losing-steak like this, it is important for a team to always take some positives out of a game.
The Power Play
How ironic, when the penalty kill plays to form, the powerplay goes to the dogs. Last night, they went an abysmal 0-4. Had they scored on just one of these chances, a small task, the game would have gone into overtime where the Devils could have won. Essentially, the powerplay was a main factor in the loss.
Up Next
The Devils face the Rangers on Thursday at 7:00 pm.