The New Jersey Devils lost their season finale to the Detroit Red Wings Wednesday night. The Red Wings spoiled Dougie Hamilton’s return and also fan appreciation night with a 5-2 win. The Devils season is over for the regular season and they’ll gear up for Game 1 against the Hurricanes.
Game Recap
First Period
It took until the midway point of the period, but the Red Wings scored the first goal. However, the Devils challenged the goal and the goal came off the board. The Devils put forth a surge, which saw Cody Glass get a grade-a chance on Alex Lyon, but he made the save.
The Red Wings did finally grab the first goal of the game. Entering the zone on an odd-man rush, Simon Edvinsson deflected the puck off his skate and right to Jonathan Berggren, who fired a shot top shelf over Nico Daws. The Red Wings took this lead into the second period.
Despite being down in the period, the Devils held the slight edge in shot attempts against the Red Wings (17-15) and held an edge in terms of shot on goal. Both teams were very close in scoring chances generated, but the Devils got more quality attempts towards the net. Frustrating for the Devils, as they held the edge in expected goals during five-on-five (0.88-0.53).
Second Period
The Red Wings picked up where they left off. They added to their lead and scored the second goal of the game. Forward J.T. Compher skated up along the boards and into the Devils zone. He ripped a shot short side over Daws and the Red Wings led 2-0. The Devils got a power play and hoped to breakthrough against the worst penalty kill in the league, but could not muster up a goal.
Roughly six minutes of this period was played in special teams. The Red Wings were a stronger five-on-five team in this period, but this was also a very low event frame as well. Shots were 6-4 in favor of the red wings and neither team generated anything of high danger either.
Third Period
Well, if you’ve been watching this game, there is a common theme and it’s the period beginning with a Red Wings goal. 2:55 into the period, the captain Dylan Larkin got on the board. Off a good passing sequence, Edvinsson found Larkin right in the slot and he made no mistake burying that goal.
Then the Devils began their comeback and it started on the power play. Sprong took a shot from the blue line and got deflected by Erik Haula to cut the deficit to two. Moments later, Dawson Mercer got the Devils to within one.
After cycling the puck behind the net, Mercer found an open lane and poked the puck into the net. They fed off that energy and kept pushing for the tying goal. Both Compher and Glass went to the penalty box, creating a four on four situation. The Red Wings scored to make it 4-2, thanks to an Alex DeBrincat shot right from the shot and similar to the Larkin goal. The Red Wings scored an empty net goal to make it 5-2, sealing the Devils fate.
Game Notes
- Nico Daws had an extremely rough night in the crease. The Red Wings generated 2.07 expected goals in all situations and Daws allowed four, giving him a -1.93 goals saved above expected for the game.
- Welcome back Dougie Hamilton. He finished the game with a Corsi-for percentage of 73.17 and had an expected goals for percentage of 89.11. Great to see heading into the playoffs.
What’s Next?
The next game the Devils play will be in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The date has yet to be set, but the first game is guaranteed to be in Raleigh.