The Devils didn’t get the start they were looking for. Last night, the New Jersey Devils fell to the New York Rangers 5-1 in their first playoff game in five years. It was an extremely frustrating loss for a team that, despite a slow start, looked good for most of the game. Now, the Devils have dug themselves into a one-game hole in this first-round series.
Summary
First Period
The inexperienced Devils looked nervous during the first couple of shifts, but they got a golden opportunity at 1:15 when Vincent Trocheck took a tripping penalty. They set up in the offensive zone, but couldn’t find a shooting lane and let the man-advantage go to waste. New Jersey continued to look shaky for a few minutes after that, culminating in a goal at 4:58 from Vladamir Tarasenko from in tight.
The Devils got another power play off a holding call on Adam Fox, but once again, they passed the puck around in the offensive zone without taking a shot. Miles Wood took a bad holding call a minute later, giving New York’s much-feared power play unit a chance to shine. They capitalized at 9:30 with a goal from Chris Kreider.
The Devils got their act together to end the period, buzzing in the Rangers’ zone with multiple chances. They couldn’t find the back of the net though, either putting it wide, into a Ranger body, or into Igor Shesterkin. Braden Schneider took a high sticking call toward the end of the period, but the Devils couldn’t do anything with the power play to end the first period.
Second Period
The Devils started the second period on the power play but failed to generate any real chances for the third time of the night. The Devils continued their five-on-five success for most of the period, generating a good amount of chances in the Rangers’ zone. Despite this, they found nothing but Ranger bodies.
Erik Haula took a holding call at the 14:18 mark, sending the Rangers back to the man advantage. It seemed that Alexis Lafreniere scored to put New York up 3-0, but it was called off after a review for a high stick. Though, shortly after, Ryan Lindgren actually put the Rangers up by three, skating to the side of the net and putting it past Vitek Vanecek from a sharp angle.
Even though the Rangers increased their lead, the Devils looked much better this period, posting a Corsi for percentage (CF%) of 65.38 and an expected goals percentage (xG%) of 74.05.
Third Period
If the Devils were going to try and make a comeback, they would need some early momentum in the third frame. They got a good amount of chances, but just couldn’t beat Shesterkin and the Ranger defense from the good angles. An increasingly frustrated Devils team got chippy with New York after a couple of plays. At one point, Damon Severson got into a scuffle with Barclay Goodrow that resulted in Michael McLeod being sent off for grabbing an opponent’s visor.
The Rangers capitalized on the ensuing powerplay with another goal from Chris Kreider at 11:07, this time off a tip of a wicked shot from Adam Fox.
At this point, the game was essentially over and the Devils were playing to prevent the shutout and preserve some pride. Jack Hughes got an opportunity to do just that when he went on a breakaway before being bumped by Jakob Trouba from behind.
Hughes was granted the penalty shot and buried New Jersey’s only goal on Shesterkin’s blocker side. It didn’t really matter though, as Filip Chytil scored an empty-netter at 18:02 to ice the game.
Results
Last night was a learning experience for New Jersey. Many predicted that this talented squad might cave to the pressure of an elite Ranger power play and the other-worldly Shesterkin, and that’s exactly what happened. They’ll look to tackle these obstacles in game two.
Game Notes
Special Teams Falter
Coming into this series, the forecast was that the Devils would control five-on-five play, but that the Rangers held the advantage when it came to special teams. That forecast played out to the letter last night. New York scored two of its goals on the power play last night, going 2-for-3 overall. It seems that their fearsome powerplay is no myth.
Their penalty kill was also stifling, killing four Devils’ power plays without allowing a shot on goal. They closed every lane and got in front of every puck, frustrating New Jersey’s offense. The Rangers won last night in large part thanks to their dominance on special teams.
Devils Play Well At Even Strength
Just like the forecast predicted, the Devils played just fine at five-on-five. They got out to a slow start, typical of a team that last played a postseason game five years ago, but eventually turned it up a notch.
New Jersey controlled most of the possession, posting a 65.17 Corsi-for percentage. They also controlled a majority of the high-danger chances at five-on-five, notching a 60.07 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%). Nevertheless, New York overcame the Devils’ dominance at even strength.
Shesterkin Dazzles
In a not-so-shocking twist, Igor Shesterkin was lights-out for the Rangers. He had a good defense in front of him blocking shots, but he still played a pivotal role in keeping the Rangers in front.
He stopped 27 of 28 shots, good for a .964 save percentage. The only goal he allowed was the Jack Hughes penalty shot. If the Devils are going to get anywhere in this series, they’ll need to find a way to beat Shesterkin more often.
Up Next
The Devils will play Game 2 of this series tomorrow at 7:30 pm EDT.