Saturday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 to wrap up their homestand and improve to 20-10-3 on the season. Three third period goals would be the deciding factor for the Devils who carried their momentum from Thursday.
Recap
Period One
The first period was a typical one for the Devils as of late. They got a plethora of chances that they couldn’t capitalize on. Drew Commesso made his first NHL start in net for the Blackhawks and looked good for a majority of it.
Both teams had power play opportunities in the first period, none of which being successful. After a fairly quiet first the two teams would head to the intermission even at zero.
Period Two
The Devils would come out for the second on the front foot, but that wouldn’t last long as the Hawks would step up their game. It started with a couple posts, with one great chance coming from a bad ricochet to Tyler Bertuzzi who hit the underside of the crossbar. Later in the period, the Blackhawks would hit one more post, but this time it would go in. A shot went off the left post, off the face of Luke Hughes, and into the net. An unfortunate bounce for New Jersey, but one they needed to shake off if they wanted to stay in the game.
Erik Haula had a point blank chance late in the period, but was robbed by Commesso’s glove. Chicago would carry their 1-0 lead into period three.
Period Three
The Blackhawks started the third period on the power play and got a great chance from Connor Bedard. The former number one overall pick sliced his way through the Devils defense and flipped a shot off the crossbar. Shortly after, the Devils would tie it, as Luke Hughes made a beautiful feed to set up Dawson Mercer in front of the net. The Devils would continue to apply the pressure as the period went on and eventually, the floodgates opened.
After a long, grueling shift by the Nico Hischier line, Jesper Bratt made an excellent play to strip the puck which eventually led to Jack Hughes ripping home his 13th of the season. Just a minute and change later, Bratt would make another excellent play to set up Hischier who potted the biscuit five-hole on Commesso to make it 3-1. Just 18 seconds after that, Timo Meier found himself with the puck right in front off a rebound where he made no mistake.
The Devils locked it down after that and won with a final score of 4-1.
Game Notes
Elite Defensive Homestand
In the pregame, we looked at the Devils defensive dominance overall. However, if you look at just this homestand it gets even more impressive. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Devils have the second lowest expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) and lowest shots against per 60 minutes (SA/60) since last Friday when the Devils beat the Seattle Kraken. They have phenomenal marks of 2.17 xGA/60 and 18.4 SA/60 in that span.
Of the Devils’ five games in their homestand, Jacob Markstrom started four of them and allowed just six goals. With numbers like that you’d expect that he would have an outstanding save percentage (sv%). While it is good, a mark of .912 is nothing world breaking, which shows just how good the Devils defense has been.
Slumping Power Play
Throughout this season, the Devils’ power play has been one of the best in hockey. In the stretch leading up to this homestand, the team was seven for their last 11 chances on the man-advantage. However, on this homestand, the team went without a power play goal on 13 chances. The odd part is that the power play has actually been better at producing chances than their average for the whole season.
Overall, the team produces 11.36 expected goals per 60 minutes (xG/60) while on the power play. That mark is first in the NHL by 1.69, that gap from first to second is the same as the gap from second to 18th. On this homestand, the team is clicking at a rate of 13.26 xG/60 on the power play. It’s just a matter of time before the league best unit starts clicking again.
Next Up
The Devils get a well-earned couple days off before traveling to St. Louis to face off against the Blues. The game is set for a 8:00 pm ET puck drop.