The New Jersey Devils were struggling to beat a hot Anthony Stolarz in net but did beat him once. Then Jacob Markstrom gave up a terrible, soft goal to Pontus Holmberg. Then the Devils lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime. What follows is a salty recap.
One of the emerging themes of the 2024-25 NHL season for the New Jersey Devils is that they have not been good at home. Their record reflect this. Out of the five times the Devils have been shutout this season, three have been at home to the mighty names of MacKenzie Blackwood (San Jose), Jordan Binnington (St. Louis), and Scott Wedgewood (Colorado). The Devils flopped in their season opener in New Jersey to Toronto. Tonight, they found a different way to send the People Who Matter home from the Rock. The Devils managed to managed to lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 1-2 in overtime, in a game where the Devils out-shot the Leafs 38-14.
That is no typo. The Devils held the Leafs to single-digit shots for about 45 minutes out of the 60 minutes of regulation. The official count had the Devils out-shoot the Leafs 16-1 in the first period. Toronto’s power play featured some of the best offensive rushes the Devils had all night. The Leafs were losing pucks left, right, and center for the majority of the game. All of the signs that they did not want to be in Newark were there. There were four reasons why this game was not a total blowout like the last time the Devils put up 16 shots in the first period (the 6-2 win over Anaheim): #1 Anthony Stolarz. #2 Anthony Stolarz. #3 Actual backchecking efforts that bailed out or touched off or got just enough in the way of an attack. #4 Anthony Stolarz.
Yes, Anthony Stolarz played out of his mind tonight. The Edison, New Jersey born – and the sole New Jersey-born goalie in the NHL – has had himself a great season so far. Prior to this game, he put up a 92.4% overall save percentage in 15 games. He may not be a Name Goalie or even a #1A, but if you have been following Toronto, then you know he has been rather capable of something like this. Which is to say, the Devils got goalied real bad. The Devils generated 4.53 expected goals and scored just one.
To be fair, the Devils did score one. A turnover taken by Jesper Bratt at Toronto’s blueline had four Leafs watching him and no one really minding Ondrej Palat on a quick re-entry. Pass, shot, and not even Stolarz would stop the shot to the inside post. The Devils took a 1-0 lead in the second period. They did everything they could to score more goals. Stolarz did nearly everything he could to deny them and his skaters filled in some of the gaps amid a six-shot effort after two periods.
The problem with games like this is that, eventually, teams as talented as Toronto do not just accept that they are having a stinker. Not in a one-shot game. Not on a squad featuring Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Auston Mattews, William Nylander, and other non Core Four Leafs. The third period was a legitimately competitive one. And even then the Devils were doing their job well to maintain the slimmest of leads.
Then Matthew Knies boarded Johnathan Kovacevic. A textbook boarding call and a surprising penalty call given it was A) the third period and B) Max Pacioretty somehow avoided any time for an even worse hit on The Big Deal in the second period. Tonight’s officials apparently do not believe in charging as a call. Anyway, the Devils power play was struggling in this game. They struggled to get set up, Toronto countered multiple times, and they were fortunate that Auston Matthews missed two wide open shorthanded one-on-one shots earlier in the game. But this power play had all of the signs of the Devils power play from this season. Plenty of motion. Plenty of ideas. A mix of shots from a good distance and plays to get greasier than an auto mechanic. The latter took place on a massive jam play – and the puck squirted out for a counter-attack.
Dawson Mercer did his best to get ahead of Connor Dewar – only to fall down (maybe knocked down and even tripped? More of a trip than what Luke Hughes was called for) and leave the puck. Not great, but far from the cardinal sin on this play. Dougie Hamilton, who is making $12.6 million this season, put in a $12.60-per-hour backchecking effort as Pontus Holmberg got in front of him. Far worse and far more worthy of criticism, but, again, not the cardinal sin here. Holmberg swept at the loose puck. Just to get it on frame. Not a hard shot. Not a slap shot. Just a movement towards the net.
And it beat Jacob Markstrom through his legs.
It beat a 34-year old with over 500 NHL games played through his legs. Just a hopeful move from Holmberg; that went through Markstrom. To call it soft would be an understatement. It was a 3-ply toilet paper soft goal against. It was a fleece toddler blanket soft goal against. It was the kind of shot I know Brodeur would stop. Anthony. Jeremy. The current 52-year old Marty. Probably even William would have had a chance at it.
That made it 1-1. And I am getting broken by Jacob Markstrom. I get that goalies give up bad goals. I get that coincidences like giving up goals on the first shot are not actual traits. I get that in this fast-paced, who’s-now style of sports analysis, context and perspective are easily lost. But that was the kind of goal that Markstrom was brought in to not allow. A first pick and Kevin Bahl (who is not missed thanks to Kovacevic and the return of Jonas Siegenthaler) Yeah, Mercer made a meal of his backcheck. He tried! Hamilton could have penalized Holmberg or tried moving his legs clearly weighed by his multi-million wallet. But Markstrom had a super-simple shot to stop and he got beat by it.
I understand that the People Who Matter want me to focus on something else. Like scoring just one goal in the last two games. Like getting goalied by Stolarz, who had no issue closing his five-hole with, get this concept Jacob and Goaltending Coach David Rogalski, even using his stick. Like the power play going 0-for-4. And the honest truth is that the Devils put up 38 shots, 71 attempts, 43 chances, and 17 high-danger chances tonight. Their most common spot in 5-on-5 for attempts was right in front of the crease. They were getting to the net, to be sure. If you think the Devils were just kept to the perimeter or settling for shots from the goal line, then you watched a very different game from everyone at the Rock and those who watched on ESPN+ or Hulu.
The Devils are not Carolina, who can and does shoot first and figure it out later. The Devils have been doing a lot of the same things where they could score three to six goals and it just has not because this is hockey and sometimes the other goalie just has a hot night. It happens. Auston Matthews missed multiple wide open shots on rush plays. It’s frustrating but changing a whole process because (Insert Goalie Here) had one great evening is a foolish and a great way to derail a season.
This could have been salvaged in overtime. It almost was. The Big Deal was denied on the fourth period’s first play. Jesper Bratt caught the Leafs changing and missed the net on a shot. Timo Meier made a great power move to force something. The Big Deal set up Brett Pesce trailing for a shot. Like the one goal against in regulation, the rebound popped out. Only this time, Auston Matthews got it. With Pesce on his back and knowing Matthews missed three rush chances (two on penalty kills, one in overtime), he was not going to miss a fourth. He didn’t. Of course, Markstrom did not challenge Matthews on the shot. He was beaten five-hole on a sweeping shot by Pontus Holmberg. What do you think he was going to do against a legitimate goal scorer?
I am obviously salty about this loss. As are many of the People Who Matter. I agree with the questions of “Why am I paying to see this live?” I sympathize and empathize with those who think the Devils need to get their acts together at home. The sad reality is that the Devils mostly did get their acts together tonight against Toronto. I remind you that they held Toronto to 9 shots in 5-on-5 play and 12 in regulation. The problem is that, tonight, Jacob Markstrom did not.
The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary / The NHL.com Event Summary / The NHL.com Play by Play Log / The NHL.com Shot Summary / The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats
The Game Highlights: From the NHL’s Youtube channel, here is a video of tonight’s highlights.
The Return of Bastian: One of the many disappointments of this night is that Markstrom’s Mistake overshadowed a great return from Nathan Bastian. I understand Shane Bowers had hustle. As did Nathan Legare. And Nolan Foote was, well, there. (No words needed about the Five Minute Man) But Bastian was a breath of fresh air for the fourth line. His first shift featured a good shot on net. He moved well. The fourth line as a whole with Justin Dowling and Tomas Tatar were excellent at pushing play forward. No, they were not game changers for the six minutes and change they played. But Bastian immediately showed he was a level above the Comet call-ups. Welcome back, Bastian.
The Return of Palat to Scoring: Ondrej Palat’s goal tonight was his first since his empty net goal in the 4-1 win over Florida on November 12, 2024. He beat a month-long drought and he did it with a great shot inside the right post (Stolarz’s right post).
The Many High Danger Chances: Rather than list everyone who had at least one, here are the five Devils who did not have any: Dougie Hamilton, Brenden Dillon, Jonas Siegenthaler, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Paul Cotter. That’s four defensemen, three defenders who are not offensive at all, and Cotter. It shows how everyone attacked tonight. Similarly, only Siegenthaler, Cotter, and Kovacevic did not have a scoring chance tonight from their own attempts.
Why Was Pesce On the Ice in Overtime?: To be cute about it, see above.
More seriously, the Devils’ blueline has two (2) players who can attack in a wide open, 3-on-3 setting: Luke Hughes and, to a lesser extent, Dougie Hamilton. Rather than icing three forwards or hoping Siegenthaler or Kovacevic can keep up on the open ice, head coach Sheldon Keefe opted for Pesce. Did it work? Not as well as one would have hoped. And given that it was his shot that led to the rush by Matthews for the win, I doubt we will see much of #22 in 3-on-3 situations in the future.
Did Any Devil Struggle at 5-on-5?: It took until the third period, but Erik Haula, Stefan Noesen, and Cotter fell behind in attempts (5-6) and shots (2-3). Splitting up the individuals in 5-on-5, Cotter had the more positive game.
For all of the correct wishes for the Devils to improve their depth at forward (and I agree!), the Colorado game and this one is telling me that Noesen needs to go back to Nico Hischier’s line. Dawson Mercer is not really helping to unlock Timo Meier or Nico Hischier from doing much more than what they have and Noesen’s a better forechecker than Mercer. That can salvage Noesen. As for Haula, well, that is a more difficult consideration at 5-on-5.
The Silver Lining of This Evening: The penalty kill. It was just about perfect. There were penalty kills by the Devils with more shots than Toronto had the power play. They were opposite of a problem tonight. They were great.
The Home Record is Now…: 7-6-3. 6-6-3 if you take out the Prague game that was designated as a home game. The Devils can still “win” the homestand by taking at least three out of the next four points against Los Angeles and Chicago. Problem: Los Angeles is actually good and Chicago already has a win on their trip. Possible Solution: Play more like tonight and…
One Last Thought: Close your dang five-hole, Jacob.
Your Turn: The Devils got a point in a game they otherwise controlled despite Anthony Stolarz and because of Jacob Markstrom. You may disagree with that assessment, but that is how I saw this loss. Now I want to know your take. What did you make of this one? What do you do, if anything, for the Los Angeles game on Thursday? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about this overtime loss in the comments. Thanks to Jackson for the game preview and thanks to everyone who followed along in the Gamethread and/or on X with @AAtJerseyBlog. Thank you for reading.