After a demoralizing 6-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday, the New Jersey Devils (24-18-3) survived the Vegas Golden Knights (27-14-6) 6-5 in an overtime thriller at the Prudential Center. It certainly wasn’t a game for the faint of heart, but the Devils’ offense came up clutch down some key pieces.
First Period
Motivated by the humiliation of Saturday, the Devils came out swinging in the first period, opening with a strong couple of shifts. This hot-start soon cooled, however, as Vegas found their legs. This culminated in Pavel Dorofeyev drawing first blood with a goal at the 6:12 mark on a bad defensive play caused by Simon Nemec’s failure to get back to help his partner John Marino.
New Jersey woke back up after this goal, with the top line playing especially dominant hockey. The momentum turned once they got their first power play of the night, going without a goal but getting a few great shots on Logan Thompson.
The top line got their reward at the 15:21 mark with a gorgeous goal from Nico Hischier in the slot on a slick below-the-goal-line feed from Timo Meier. Tying the game at one goal apiece was huge for a team coming off a demoralizing blowout.
Unsatisfied with simply tying the game, the Devils retook the lead late in the period at the 19:38 mark with Erik Haula executing a perfect behind-the-goal pass to a waiting Curtis Lazar in the slot. Simon Nemec made a great read earlier in the play to hold the zone, enabling the ensuing goal.
Although Vegas put the Devils on the back foot at points, especially before and after their lone goal, New Jersey played a solid first period to give the fans in attendance some hope.
Second Period
The second period was absolutely wild. Tyler Toffoli extended the Devils’ lead early on at the 1:37 mark, waiting for a smart half-screen by Michael McLeod before dancing into the middle of the ice and snapping it home.
After this, however, it was all Vegas as the Devils’ mishmash defense reared its head. Johnathan Marchessault cut the lead to one at the 7:39 mark, knocking a rebound into an open net after Kevin Bahl made a misguided, aggressive play to leave his assignment to help his partner Simon Nemec. Marchessault scored again on his next shift, capitalizing on a two-on-one after Cal Foote failed to send the puck up the boards in the neutral zone.
At this point, the wheels fell off completely. Brett Howden laid a tough hit on Nemec from behind and Kevin Bahl stood up for him. Howden’s hit was ruled a charging minor, however, creating a two-minute four-on-four. Luke Hughes almost had a nasty goal on a beautiful breakaway before the puck trickled into his skate.
Chandler Stephenson made the Devils pay, deflecting a Mark Stone shot past Vitek Vanecek to give Vegas the lead. Lindy Ruff wisely called a timeout for his panicking team, stabilizing the game. That was until Nicolas Roy scored Vegas’ fourth goal of the period with under a minute to play off a combined failure of Kevin Bahl losing a wall battle behind the net and Vanecek losing the puck on the ensuing shot.
Demoralized, the Devils appeared to be heading for another embarrassing loss, but with just 16 seconds left in the period, Toffoli scored his second goal of the night, sliding around Alex Pietrangelo and sniping the puck past Logan Thompson.
Vegas pressed hard in the second period and got rewarded, but the Devils did just enough to stay within striking distance going into the second intermission.
Third Period
The ice opened up completely in the third period, with shots flying at both ends of the ice. The Devils earned a man advantage early in the period on a Pavel Dorofeyev tripping call. They came up empty once again but created enough momentum to put Vegas on its toes for the rest of the game. Both teams continued to fire at the goalies unimpeded, but Vanecek and Thompson kept the game tight.
Curtis Lazar sent the building into raptures at the 9:14 mark, burying the puck after it bounced off the boards on a Nemec shot, most likely a set play. Vegas desperately tried to retake the lead, but New Jersey matched them shot-for-shot. Vitek Vanecek almost blew the game with just a few minutes to play after he came out of his net and got the puck caught in his skates. Mercifully, though, Luke Hughes swept in to save a goal.
Despite the onslaught of grade-A chances, the Devils scored the only goal of the period, sending the game to overtime and earning a much-needed point.
Overtime
Vegas won the opening draw, but Nico Hischier made a heads-up play to get to the puck first and give the Devils the vital first possession. They threatened to end the game multiple times with great chances coming from Timo Meier and Luke Hughes, but Logan Thompson managed to freeze the game. Vegas came back with a possession of their own but the three-man defense swept away any odd-man rushes.
Halfway into the overtime frame, Luke Hughes intercepted the puck at the Golden Knight blue line, setting up a three-on-one attack. He motored into the zone and found Tyler Toffoli on the other post. He sized up his shot and wristed it past a helpless Thompson, securing his hat-trick and sending the crowd into hysterics.
Results
Last night was a must-win game for New Jersey. The season seemed to hang in the balance after the embarrassment against Dallas, but the Devils responded decisively. It wasn’t the calmest of games, and the Devils looked down for the count in the second period, but they persevered in their desperate circumstances.
The Devils now own a record of 24-18-3 and sit fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 51 points. They are two points out of a playoff spot with two games in hand on the Lightning and a game in hand on the Red Wings.
Game Notes
First Line Plays Fantastic
Sorely missing star center Jack Hughes, the remnants of the Devils’ star-studded offense came through when it mattered most. The top line of Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier in particular played great, notching a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 80.00 and an expected goal percentage (xG%) of 64.91. The fact that they only scored once is shocking.
Jesper Bratt had ten shots and Timo Meier found the physical and speedy form he missed earlier in the year. This line needs to perform like this until Jack Hughes returns.
Toffoli the Hero
Tyler Toffoli may have single-handedly saved the season with his hat trick yesterday. All three of his goals were confident, aggressive goals from in the slot, playing the Vegas defense perfectly. He also scored against Dallas, giving him four goals in his last two games. This is an important swing in momentum after a four-goal point drought. Toffoli now has a team-leading 18 goals and 30 points.
Curtis Lazar
Though Toffoli’s Herculean effort overshadowed him, Curtis Lazar was crucial to the Devils’ victory, scoring twice. Lazar has been essential through this stretch of injuries, scoring six points in ten games in the month of January, including the two goals he scored yesterday.
Up Next
The Devils will head to Carolina to face the Hurricanes in a critical division matchup on Thursday at 7:30 pm ET.