Summary
Coming off a brutal 7-6 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday, the New Jersey Devils hoped to put it behind them with a win against the New York Islanders yesterday. Unfortunately, it didn’t go that way, as the Devils’ comeback attempt fell short and Cory Schneider got his first win as an Islander.
First Period
The Devils got out to a bad start, with forward Nathan Bastian leaving with an injury off a blocked shot. Later, New Jersey went on the powerplay due to a cross-check from Noah Dobson in retaliation for an earlier shove. They didn’t score, but Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the Islanders did soon after the penalty expired. He then scored another one, this time on the powerplay. The Devils would not respond, and the period ended with the red-shirts down 2-0.
Second Period
The second period got off to a hot start when, after he laid down a borderline-level hit on Jack Hughes. P.K. Subban charged across the ice to fight Oliver Wahlstrom, leaving him no time to accept the fight. After some confusion, Subban was eventually given a misconduct, resulting in an ejection. Hughes attempted to play a shift after the hit but seemed to labor. He later went down the tunnel and did not return. On top of this, Pageau scored his third of the game late in the frame, his second hatrick against the Devils. Overall, it was not a good period for Jersey.
Third Period
The Devils showed some life in the third period, staging multiple comeback attempts, but to no avail. Tomas Tatar scored the Devils’ second goal, sniping it past Schneider from the high slot. New Jersey seemed to have the upper hand after that, but former Devil Kyle Palmieri threw a wrench into the Devils’ comeback with a goal of his own. It looked like the game might have been over, but Nico Hichier scored with just over a minute to play, renewing the Devils’ hopes. Sadly, the Islanders held firm against New Jersey’s extra attacker as time expired to win the game.
Results
It was an exciting game all around, with plenty of goals, fights, and intensity. The Devils now hold a record of 24-39-6 and are in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division; they are just 2-7-1 in their last 10. The Islanders, on the other hand, own a record of 32-27-9 and sit in fifth in the Metro Division
Game Notes
Devils Play Shorthanded
The Devils played without three of their skaters for most of the game. As mentioned above, Hughes and Bastian left the game with injuries and P.K. Subban was ejected for instigation. This led to most of the Devils’ roster getting increased playing time. Ty Smith in particular benefited from this, notching 19 minutes on the night, The team played well despite losing three of its players, outskating the Isles with a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 70.00 in the third period.
Pageau Shines
Pageau demonstrated his Devil-killing penchant yet again yesterday, netting a hatrick along with an assist on the Palmieri goal. This was Pageau’s second hattrick against the Devils. Pageau has scored eight goals and 19 points in 28 career games against New Jersey.
Up Next
The Devils and Rangers will face off for the final time this season on Tuesday at 7:00 PM EDT.