It was a long night for the New Jersey Devils. They fell victim to being shutout for the first time this year, as the San Jose Sharks defeated them by a score of 3-0.
Despite having 28 shots on goal, they did not create too many dangerous chances. However, for the few chances they did have, Martin Jones was able to show off his goaltending skills and picked up the shutout while making a few flashy saves in the process. The Devils best chances came from Adam Henrique and Blake Coleman who beat Jones clean, but not the post.
The Sharks picked up 33 shots on goal with goals coming from Melker Karlsson, Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi. The bright side is that Keith Kinkaid made 30 saves on the night and kept the score at a respectable margin.
Another thing to look at is the struggles in the faceoff circle once again. The Devils only won 37 percent of the draws last night and that is something that needs to be addressed going forward. Discipline continues to be an issue for the Devils, as they took five minors. The penalties are resulting in a loss of ice time, as Miles Wood sat the rest of the game after taking a four minute double-minor in the second period while Kyle Palmieri sat for ten minutes after taking a cross-checking minor. The lack of discipline needs to stop, or it will make life difficult for the Devils sooner rather than later. Their record is now 6-2, which is still good enough for sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division.
The best thing that happened at the Prudential Center last night was the fans taking over for the national anthem when the young singer forgot the words. Take a look.
The Devils will now go into their unofficial bye week and resume action October 27 against the Ottawa Senators at the Prudential Center. It will be interesting to see what the Devils will do during their time off in terms of personnel changes.