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Match Summary
It was a bit of a mixed bag for the New Jersey Devils last night, but the end result was a loss. Though the Pittsburgh Penguins ended up on top, it’s worth noting that this is the third game in a row in which New Jersey scored at least four goals. One of them was scored in garbage time, but a goal is a goal. It was a questionable night for penalties, and Pittsburgh capitalized. This loss wasn’t totally unexpected, but it still stings.
First Period
The Devils came roaring out of the gate with an early goal from Miles Wood. It was a gritty goal, Wood screened the goaltender, Casey DeSmith, and corralled a Jesper Bratt shot for the tally. The Penguins tied the game later in the period and a Brian Dumoulin goal late in the period spoiled a tie game going into the intermission. New Jersey took three penalties in this period, more on that later.
Second Period
Once again, the Devils scored early to tie the game 2-2. This time, it was Jack Hughes who struck with help from Yegor Sharangovich and Janne Kuokkanen. Similar to the first, the Penguins scored a late goal to secure a lead going into the locker room.
Third Period
Things fell apart in the third as the Penguins took a large lead, 5-2 at one point. A screened Bryan Rust slapshot goal and a Sidney Crosby goal got past Mackenzie Blackwood. The Devils weren’t quite done, however, as they attempted a long-shot comeback. Jesper Boqvist scored his second goal in as many nights and Miles Wood scored a six-on-five goal to bring the score to 5-4. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh found the Devils’ empty net and put the game away.
Results
As I said before, it was a mixed bag for the Devils last night. For Pittsburgh, this was yet another win that helps them claw in the division race. For the Devils, it’s another loss that the fans have become accustomed to. The Devils now own a record of 14-19-6 and sit in seventh in the East Division. The Penguins are 26-13-2 and hold steady at third place.
Keys to the Game
Questionable Calls and Untimely Penalties
Sadly, it was another one of those nights at the Prudential Center last night. There were two calls in particular that caught my attention. In the first, the tripping call on Sami Vatanen was misguided at best. Ken Danyko pointed out that it doesn’t take much to draw a penalty nowadays, and I have to say that I agree. In the third, Lindy Ruff and the bench were upset by a hooking call on Miles Wood in a tense 3-2 game.
Referring aside, the Devils weren’t great on the penalty kill when the drama died down. They let up two goals on four chances from the Penguins. On some penalty kills, they looked as lifeless as they did when they had a historically bad penalty kill at the beginning of the season. Hopefully, they don’t totally regress.
Jesper Boqvist
The young Swede has heated up recently. After not being in the NHL for a couple of months and a slow start, Boqvist now has four points in his last five games. Analytically, he’s been below average with a 47.15 Corsi-for % (CF%) and a 45.12 expected goals-for % (xGF%). There are a lot of guys in front of him in the depth chart, but the Devils hope Boqvist can continue to be a good piece in the offense.
Up Next
The Devils and Penguins will hold a rematch on Sunday at 7:00 pm.