After a frustrating loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, the Devils came into their game against the Florida Panthers desperately needing to break out of a four-game slump. Here was a ready-made opportunity to collect themselves and get a statement win against a mediocre, yet still fierce, Panther squad. They squandered this opportunity, dropping the contest 4-2.
First Period
New Jersey looked shaky from the beginning. They couldn’t string together consistent offensive zone time and gave up numerous odd-man rushes to the Panthers. They got a nice chance on a three-on-two with Miles Wood leading the charge, but couldn’t put the puck past a sprawling Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Panthers drew first blood when Sam Reinhart pounced on a puck in the crease to make it 1-0. It would stay that way until the end of the period.
The Devils’ sloppiness was reflected in the possession metrics. They posted a 43.48 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 45.7 expected goals percentage (xG%).
Second Period
The Devils looked just as sloppy to start the second, wasting an early powerplay opportunity. They couldn’t seem to get consistent time in the attacking zone after that, getting trapped by Florida in the neutral zone. The Panthers struck again eight minutes into the period with a Gustav Forsling shot off Akira Schmid’s glove, a goal he probably should have saved.
John Marino answered a few minutes later, waiting for a shooting lane and sniping one past a falling Sergei Bobrovsky to make it 2-1. The Panthers challenged the goal, arguing goalie interference, but to no avail.
New Jersey created great offensive pressure late in the period, but they couldn’t get past Bobrovsky again. They thought they would head into the tunnel down one, but Sam Reinhart had other ideas, deflecting an Aaron Ekblad shot to notch his second tally of the game. The Devils went into the second intermission down 3-1.
Lindy Ruff’s squad played a lot better in the second, securing a 76.92 CF% and an 82.23 xG%, but only capitalized once in the frame.
Third Period
Instead of building on their solid play at the end of the second period, the Devils looked sloppy again to start the third. They failed to capitalize on an early powerplay, circling the puck around the offensive zone without doing much. They once again could not string together consistent pressure, staying trapped in the defensive and neutral zones for most of the period.
Erik Haula made things interesting late in the period, snapping a one-timer from the crease to make it 3-2. The effort would be in vain, however, as Carter Verhaeghe ended things with an empty netter a few minutes later.
Wrap Up
The Devils now hold a record of 21-8-2 and hold a minuscule two-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes for the division lead. The Panthers are 15-13-4 and sit fourth in the Atlantic Division.
Game Notes
Severson Scratched
Defenseman Damon Severson was notably absent from the lineup yesterday, being replaced by Kevin Bahl. He was a healthy scratch. This was probably the result of a brutal turnover that resulted in the game-winning goal for the Flyers and a subsequent bad post-game press conference.
Interestingly enough, his usual partner, Brendan Smith, played the worst game of his season. The Devils will need Severson’s two-way contributions if they want to succeed.
Haula Shines
Erik Haula got a much-needed goal last night, notching a goal and an assist. Haula was struggling before last night, carrying a five-game point drought into the contest. He looked sharp all game, getting off a few good chances including a three-on-two rush opportunity that didn’t hit the net.
Up Next
The Devils will take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at 7:00 P.M. ET.