Costly Turnovers and Bad Penalties Lead to 3-2 Devils Overtime Loss to Rangers

The Devils fought back in the second period, but their lack of offensive push for the remainder of the game alongside a propensity for turnovers killed the effort.

First Period

Early in the game, Jack Hughes made a pass behind Brett Pesce, who was pinching a bit. Artemi Panarin intercepted it, going off on a two-on-one, but Luke Hughes defended the net well, and the Panarin’s one-timer went wide of goal. The New Jersey Devils had a poor run of shifts, but Jacob Markstrom only had to make stops on point shots until Trocheck had a tap-in chance that was muffed as Markstrom sprawled to make a save. Less than a minute later, Curtis Lazar set up Kurtis MacDermid for a netfront chance, but Shesterkin made the save. MacDermid almost had it.

Then, Luke Hughes made a play on his backhand, going to the right side and firing a shot that deflected up off the crossbar and stayed out. However, it fooled enough people that it was initially whistled a goal — but the replay quickly straightened that out. Then, Timo Meier was high-sticked by Adam Fox as his shot from the side of the net was stopped by Shesterkin, and the Devils went to a power play.

The New York Rangers penalty kill was ice cold prior to tonight, coming into this kill at 12 for their last 21. They stayed on the Devils pretty well, though, preventing the first unit from getting free for any chance. A Luke Hughes shot was blocked by Mika Zibanejad’s face, which prevented a clear at first, but Paul Cotter turned the puck from center ice quickly back in, and the second unit had a couple chances late in the power play. After the penalty expired, Jacob Markstrom made a huge save on a redirection, and the Rangers took a bench minor penalty for too many men on the ice — meaning that the shot would not have counted, anyway. The Devils went back to the power play.

The Devils were better at holding the zone this time around, and Shesterkin was forced to make a couple saves before the net came loose as the Devils were cycling. Mika Zibanejad used the faceoff to clear the puck when Nico was kicked from the dot for Jack Hughes, and the Devils took two tries to regain the offensive zone. Hughes set up Hischier for a netfront shot, which rebounded to Timo Meier, who rang the post! Then, on a delayed high stick of the puck whistle, the Rangers played the puck, giving Timo Meier another chance on goal after the penalty expired. On the other end, Brett Pesce went racing back to break up a two-on-one with his skate, saving a goal. Trocheck thought he had Berard, who had served the minor penalty earlier.

With the fourth line then on, Kurtis MacDermid was called for interference when he went tumbling with Ryan Lindgren by the side of the net. Adam Fox scored right off the draw, as his shot blasted off Johnny Kovacevic’s stick, breaking the stick and beating Markstrom. The Rangers took a 1-0 lead.

Second Period

Will Cuylle missed on a early two-on-one, smacking his shot wide and over the net, as Markstrom made himself big in goal. The Devils got on a more consistent attack early in the period this time around. After a turnover from Igor Shesterkin, who went behind the net to play the puck, Brett Pesce took the puck from Ondrej Palat and fired a low wrist shot that was deflected by Jack Hughes past Shesterkin! The Devils tied the game just a couple minutes into the period.

Jonas Siegenthaler made two great defensive plays with the game tied, as he went to the ice to swipe the puck away from the goal as it was sitting in the slot off an odd draw. Luke Hughes was interfered with after clearing the puck from the defensive zone later on, but no call was made. Fortunately, the Rangers did not score on the ensuing chance. On the other end, Jack Hughes set up Dawson Mercer for a one-timer, but Shesterkin made the save, and Palat missed a later chance to score on a feed from Dillon. The Rangers went to counterattack, but Dougie Hamilton stood up Will Cuylle in the neutral zone! Hughes fed it ahead, and Bratt scored on the rush, taking the 2-1 lead!

After the goal, Alexis Lafreniere got his stick hooked around Timo Meier, high-sticking him right in the faceoff circle. The Devils went back to the power play. Jack Hughes fell at the blueline, giving the Rangers a two-on-none breakaway. Reilly Smith dropped it to Trocheck, who couldn’t beat Markstrom! The second unit came on for most of the second minute, After the penalty, Ondrej Palat found Timo Meier on the far-side of the net after he threw the puck through the low slot, but Meier could not control the puck to beat Shesterkin.

The fourth line created a turnover off a pass from Shesterkin, and Bastian set up MacDermid for another chance that just missed. On the other end, Luke Hughes denied Rempe a chance, though Pesce and Hughes stayed out on the ice logn enough that they were stuck on an icing with the top lines on. Hughes kept on Panarin up high, and Panarin’s point shot was saved by Markstrom, through a screen. While defending the cycle, Nico Hischier was called for slashing, sending the Rangers back to the power play.

Brenden Dillon gave Justin Dowling a great chance to clear the puck with a backhand pass from below the goal line, but Adam Fox held the zone. The Rangers worked it down low, and Markstrom froze the puck after making a pad stop. After the draw, the Devils were able to clear the puck on a second try, with Kovacevic slapping it down the ice. The Rangers kept their first unit on the ice, and Markstrom overplayed a shot, giving Panarin too much net when it rebounded right to the faceoff dot. The Rangers tied the game at 2-2.

Third Period

The Devils pinned the Rangers back for just about the entire first minute of the final frame, staying on the attack after the Rangers finally cleared for a line change. On two straight possessions, the Devils kept the zone but failed to get a shot on goal. The Devils lost possession when Paul Cotter missed the puck along the wall, but the Rangers could not got a shot on goal in the other end. A couple minutes and a half later, Jack Hughes was back defending a rush with his brother after Pesce pinched in the neutral zone, and Jack deflected the puck wide of goal. The Rangers took control and had the Deivls pinned, but Brett Pesce finally blocked a shot by Zibanejad after he made a move around Jack to get open.

The Rangers kept control, forcing Jacob Markstrom to make some huge saves. Getting the Devils’ first shot on goal of the period, Jack Hughes went end-to-end, and the shot was deflected by Shesterkin out of play. The Devils began to trade back-and-forth chances, and the game began to be called more loosely by the officials, until Nate Bastian tripped Artemi Panarin on a defensive zone faceoff. The two-for-two Rangers power play went back to work.

Dawson Mercer stripped the puck away early in the kill, getting ahead for a breakaway that was saved by Shesterkin, on a low forehand shot. Nico Hischier ate up more time, getting the puck behind goal before playing it back out to Pesce. They went off for the second penalty kill unit, and Jesper Bratt drew a slashing call from Mika Zibanejad as Hughes set him up for a rush chance, which was turned aside.

At four-on-four, the Devils used Paul Cotter, Timo Meier, Luke Hughes, and Brett Pesce. The Devils lost possession on the cycle, and the Rangers went down the other way. Sam Carrick and Timo Meier collided in the neutral zone, and the Rangers went hard to the net after Pesce blocked the initial shot by Cuylle. Markstrom made a couple saves, and he was crashed into by Carrick as play was whistled dead. The Devils and Rangers got into a scrum, but nobody went to the box. The top power play unit mostly came onto the ice late in the four-on-four, and Dougie Hamilton took a bouncing puck and shot it high, forcing Shesterkin to squeeze his arm down tightly to make a save. The Rangers went to the power play right off the following draw, and the Devils were forced back and had to retake the offensive zone. Stefan Noesen took a slap shot on goal, and the Devils kept the puck in the zone while the Rangers tried to clear. Hamilton fired a one-timer well wide of goal as the penalty was close to expiring, and play went back to even strength with just over six minutes to play.

The Rangers had a couple offensive zone shifts over the next few minutes, but the Devils had just enough defensive plays in them to keep the game tied. The Hughes line was having the most success creating offense, but Johnny Kovaceivc fired a wide open shot from the high slot wide of goal, forcing Markstrom to make a save on a wide-angled Trocheck rush shot to freeze play with under three minutes to play. Both teams began to play it safer in the final minute and a half, sending the game to overtime.

Overtime

The Devils sent out Hischier, and the two Hughes brothers to start overtime against Trocheck, Miller, and and Lafreniere. The Rangers won the draw, and Nico Hischier sealed Lafreniere off for a Jack Hughes takeaway. At center ice, Nico went off for Bratt, but a giveaway by Jack Hughes allowed the Rangers a change for Panarin, Zibanejad, and Fox. Panarin split the middle, looking to end the game, but Markstrom made a glove save! He played it to Luke Hughes, and the Devils hada couple chances of their own on the other end. The Devils got Hischier, Mercer, and Hamilton on, but their change for Pesce, and Meier almost led to disaster when they lost Zibanejad. Markstrom made another breakaway stop, and the Devils got Jack back onto the ice. Jack turned the puck over, and Sam Carrick scored on a one-timer.

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

Not Taking Advantage of Opportunities

The Devils found themselves on four power plays tonight, only getting four shots on goal in 6:55 of advantage time. By comparison, the Rangers had six shots on goal in 2:33. What is most disappointing about a loss like this is the Devils really did not have a lot of guys to shut down. Only Panarin, Zibanejad, Fox, Cuylle, and Lafreniere are big offensive threats on that team, but the Devils collapsed in their own zone far too much when they were on the ice. The top two Rangers lines accounted for 17 shots on goal at even strength while their bottoms six was very weak, with the absence of Kreider and Chytil leaving them thinner than usual.

The Rangers did play well, though. They finished their checks more consistently than the Devils, and they were all over the puck. Playing the Devils tightly, even Nico Hischier had trouble keeping possession of the puck tonight (maybe the Rangers could have been called for a slash or hook on him once or twice, but they had four power plays), though his line was a bit stronger on defense than the Hughes line — and they helped to keep the Lafreniere-Trocheck-Panarin off the board at five-on-five with some good plays in the defensive zone, especially with Noesen and Meier helping by getting their sticks in the passing lanes (during regulation). Fortunately, the Hughes did get the goals that allowed the team to get to overtime in the first place, so the top six did, well, enough at five-on-five to get a win, especially considering the two other instances they hit iron.

Turnovers in the Late-Game Situations

This is the second time Jack Hughes made a game-killing turnover in the middle of the ice in recent times. Last month, he skated right into Cole Sillinger with an empty net behind him, leading to a game-sealing goal by Sean Monahan in the Devils’ loss to Columbus. Thankfully, Jack had already done his part to secure a point, but a turnover like the one he had in overtime just kills me to watch. In three-on-three, I would much rather see Jack use his speed to get open rather than watch him try to skate through defenders. Jacob Markstrom had already made a couple huge overtime stops, and all the Devils really had to do was not allow a two-on-one.

This was also the second time this season Brett Pesce has been on the ice for a three-on-three goal against, and Meier was the one back defending a two-on-one. I love Pesce at five-on-five, but he wasn’t even open for a shot while he played himself too deep in the offensive zone with Jack attacking the net. Meier obviously did not do what he needed to there, but at this point, I think Kovacevic needs to be the extra three-on-three defender when Dougie and Luke need a break.

Giving Markstrom More Support

During the game, the MSG crew flashed a graphic showing that Jacob Markstrom has a 17-game winning streak when the team scores three or more goals. He gave them the chance tonight, getting Devils fans loud enough for an audible “Marky” chant during overtime, and they still lost. On the night, Markstrom stopped 30 of 33 shots with 3.86 expected goals against, according to Natural Stat Trick. He faced seven rush shots and 10 shots off of rebounds, and he was pretty sharp on screened and deflected shots as well.

This was a very disappointing loss. It’s not terrible — they got a point, and I was a lot calmer once that point was secured — but it’s just another game showing they need more of an offensive threat. At a certain point, the top players they rely on are bound to make mistakes chasing those chances, and the burden of scoring needs to be shared, just as much as everyone needs to buy into making good decisions with the puck and keeping the defensive structure in place. Personally, I find myself wanting Tom Fitzgerald to look for an Erik Haula replacement sooner rather than later — or at least to give Dawson Mercer an offensive winger that allows him to shift to center. Mercer had some chances tonight, but he creates much more on the shifts he takes with Jack Hughes than what he can muster next to Dowling and Cotter. I think a good third line wins tonight’s game in regulation, and the fourth line was a bit frustrating with MacDermid getting the only chances, while they took two penalties.

Your Thoughts

What did you think of tonight’s game? Were you able to watch? What did you think about the Rangers compared to the previous two games? Who do you think needs to step up the most after tonight? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.