The New Jersey Devils (25-15-3) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken (17-21-3) on Monday night. Jacob Markstrom was tremendous to earn the win for the Devils as he turned aside 21 of 23 shots in the win. The two points keeps New Jersey second in the Metropolitan Division.
Game Summary
First Period
New Jersey was on the front foot right off the jump in this one. The Devils had the game’s first four shots, all within the first five minutes.
That early pressure ultimately paid off when Dawson Mercer gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the contest. Mercer’s 10th of the season came off a nice rebound in front to bury a Nico Hischier rebound.
However, Seattle completely flipped the momentum midway through the period. The Kraken began to hem the Devils in and eventually capitalized. After a nice save by Jacob Markstrom to deny Jared McCann on a backdoor tip play, an Adam Larsson seeing-eye point shot tied the game with four minutes left in the period.
After the goal, New Jersey completely lost its defensive structure. Markstrom was forced into a phenomenal save to rob Oliver Bjorkstrand on a well-worked three-on-one as well as an Andre Burakovsky breakaway, all in the final four minutes.
When the horn sounded to end the frame, the Kraken had the final eight shots of the period and the score was all tied at 1-1. In the first, the Kraken finished with a 13-11 shots advantage while the Devils posted a 59.57 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 63.43 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five.
Second Period
The second period was much more evenly played throughout the frame, and neither team created much in the way of grade-A chances.
Philipp Grubauer made a pair of solid saves on Ondrej Palat and Jesper Bratt from the slot, while most of the Kraken chances came from sustained pressure in the New Jersey zone.
The best chance for Seattle came midway through the period when the Hischier line was hemmed in the defensive zone for well over two minutes. After Luke Hughes dove to keep a loose puck out of the slot, Hischier made a great play to break up a slap-pass intended for Kaapo Kakko on the backdoor.
However, it was New Jersey that found the breakthrough late in the period. Off a set play, Paul Cotter picked up a dump-in that came out in front off the back wall, but lost control of the puck while attempting to deke. The puck ended up sliding through Grubauer’s five-hole, giving the Devils a 2-1 lead with 24 seconds left in the period on Cotter’s 10th of the year.
Before the horn sounded, though, chaos ensued. Jonas Siegenthaler took the game’s first penalty for boarding, and a scrum broke out behind the Devils’ net. Brandon Montour threw some right hands at Brett Pesce and both got a major for fighting.
The Devils killed the first seven seconds of the Siegenthaler minor and got to the locker room up 2-1.
In the second, shots were 11-4 in favor of New Jersey while the Devils had a 62.86 CF% and a 85.56 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
Seattle had 1:53 of carry-over power play time to start the period, and took advantage. With 30 seconds left on the kill, Kaapo Kakko made a slick saucer pass from below the goal line to an unguarded Shane Wright in front, who tied the game at two.
However, just forty seconds later, New Jersey punched right back. Jack Hughes fed Ondrej Palat in the slot who went top shelf to make it 3-2 Devils just two minutes into the final frame.
A minute later, though, Seattle almost tied things up again. Shane Wright made a great feed to Eeli Tolvanen on the back door, but Jacob Markstrom made a diving glove save to deny a sure goal with maybe his best save of the season.
With six minutes to go, Seattle began to really ramp up the pressure, looking for an equalizer. Kaapo Kakko rang one off the outside of the post, and before the Devils could get a line change, Markstrom made another highlight-reel save, tumbling backwards to bat a looping puck away from his net off a scramble in front.
Kraken coach Dan Bylsma pulled Grubauer for the extra attacker with two minutes remaining, but the Kraken could not beat Markstrom, and the Devils secured a 3-2 win.
In the third, shots were 7-6 New Jersey with the Devils registering a 44.83 CF% and a 42.01 xGF% at five-on-five.
Wrap-Up
The Devils outshot the Kraken 29-23 in the win while posting a 56.76 CF% and 61.24 xGF% at five-on-five.
Jacob Markstrom was tremendous in the win, stopping 21 of 23 shots. The Swedish netminder turned aside 0.11 goals above expected, but played much better than that figure may seem, making three highlight-reel saves to secure the one goal victory. It was his 20th win of the season.
Game Notes
Dillon-Hamilton Pairing Strong
It was an impressive performance from the Brendan Dillon and Dougie Hamilton defensive pairing, with the duo leading all New Jersey defensemen in xGF%. Dillon led all New Jersey skaters with an 81.58 xGF% while Hamilton had a 75.64 xGF%, fourth on the team. No other defenseman finished north of a 62.00 xGF%.
The Devils add a sizable advantage in scoring chances with the defnsemen on the ice. Dillon posted a 14-2 edge in overall scoring chances and a 7-2 edge in high-dangers. Hamilton managed a 16-4 edge in scoring chances and a 7-3 edge in high-dangers.
Hughes Line Tilted Ice
The trio of Jack Hughes, Ondrej Palat, and Jesper Bratt had a very strong night for New Jersey. As a line, they generated the most expected goals for (0.64) and allowed the fewest expected goals against (0.19) among the four forward lines, good for a 77.21 xGF% at five-on-five.
On top of that, Hughes set up Palat for what ended up being a crucial game-winning goal, and the line was buzzing throughout the third period.
New Jersey finished with a 9-1 edge in scoring chances with this line on the ice and had the only two high-danger chances.
Tough Night For Fourth Line
New Jersey’s top three lines all played very well, posting expected goals-for percentages above 60.00. However, the fourth line did struggle.
Nathan Bastian, Curtis Lazar, and Tomas Tatar finished with a 7.86 xGF% as a line while surrendering a 3-0 deficit in high-danger chances. Those three forwards were the only Devil skaters to finish with a 43.00 xGF% or lower at five-on-five, and were not particularly close. They were also the unit hemmed in before Adam Larsson’s first period goal.
While Paul Cotter’s recent scoring hot streak has provided important depth in the lineup, New Jersey still has some clear room for improvement in the bottom-six.
What’s Next
The Devils return to the East Coast for their third matchup with the Rangers in a five week span at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm ET on MSGSN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.