The Devils dropped the final game of the season series against the Carolina Hurricanes in a game marred by a hefty penalty assessed to Timo Meier.
The Result: The New Jersey Devils lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2.
The Game Stats: NHL.com’s Recap, NHL.com Game Summary, NHL.com Event Summary, NHL.com Full Play-by-Play, NHL.com Shot Report, Natural Stat Trick Game Stats
First Period
The first period saw offensive surges from both teams, but Jake Allen was the reason the period ended without any blood being drawn. The Devils had scoring opportunities from Nate Bastian, who had a good tip on a shot from the point, while the fourth line applied some sustained offensive zone pressure against the Canes. With just over 12 minutes left in the period, Carolina’s fourth line had a strong shift against the Devils’ fourth line, hemming New Jersey in their own end. The Devils responded with a high-pressure shift from Nico Hischier’s line, with Meier driving hard to the net for a shot and Hischier attempting to bat home the rebounds. Carolina emphasized physical play, particularly William Carrier. The Hurricanes controlled play from about six-minute mark until the end of the period. With 5:33 remaining, Carrier skated over Meier’s stick off on a face off, drawing a penalty on Meier. Allen made save after save to keep the Canes off the scoresheet and allow the Devils to kill the penalty. The Devils withstood the pressure from Carolina, largely thanks to Allen, and the period ended 0-0.
Second Period
The second period started precisely the way the Devils wanted. Paul Cotter picked Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s pocket in the neutral zone, which led to a breakaway. Cotter made a backhand to forehand move and roofed it over Tokarski’s shoulder. 1-0.
As one would expect, Carolina pushed hard in response to the goal. The Hurricanes played a heavy forechecking game below the goal line, moving the puck from low to high. Allen continued his impressive play to keep the Devils ahead.
With just over 12 minutes remaining in the period, Seth Jarvis tripped Luke Hughes as the Hurricanes moved through the neutral zone and entered the Devils’ end. No call was made, and Hughes fell, leading to a scoring chance by Sebastian Aho. Allen made a stellar save on the shot, hindered by Jack Hughes hooking Aho and taking a potentially goal-saving penalty. The missed interference call on Jarvis led directly to the scoring chance for Aho and a penalty on the Devils.
About a minute later, Carolina tried to chip a puck into the Devils zone and hit Brett Pesce in the mouth with the puck. Pesce would leave the game for a few minutes to receive medical attention but would return. The Devils had the best scoring opportunity on the Hurricanes’ power play when Nico Hischier poked a puck past a pinching defenseman. Hischier had a partial breakaway, but Tokarski saved Nico’s deke, and Martin Necas saved the rebound attempt backhanded by Dawson Mercer. The Devils successfully killed the penalty and performed well in the process.
With just over eight minutes remaining in the period New Jersey was finally able to draw a penalty of their own. Eric Robinson caught Curtis Lazar with a high hit to the head and was sent off for two minutes. Unfortunately, the Devils’ power play looked sloppy on this opportunity and the opportunity that followed a few minutes later when Jaccob Slavin was called for interference after slashing the stick out of Jonas Siegenthaler’s hands. The Devils had trouble entering the offensive zone and setting up their structure against the aggressive pursuit of the Canes’ penalty kill. Carolina had the best scoring opportunities while New Jersey was on the power play. Aho had a breakaway and another shot off of a two-on-one resulting from some sloppy puck play by the Devils during their second power play of the period. Thankfully, Allen was up to the challenge on both scoring chances.
With 30 seconds left in the period, Jack Hughes’ line was caught on the ice for over a minute, and everyone in the arena could see a Carolina goal coming. The tired forwards could not win races to the puck, board battles, or clear the puck out of the defensive zone. After sustained pressure by the Hurricanes, Dmitry Orlov blasted a one-timer by Allen for Carolina’s first goal. The period ended with the score all tied up at 1-1.
Third Period
The third period started precisely the way the Devils wanted, followed quickly by another lapse that was precisely what the team did NOT want. A little over a minute into the period, Jesper Bratt drove hard to the net around Slavin and slid a fantastic pass to Ondrej Palat on the doorstep. Bratt took a hit from Slavin to make the pass, but Palat had an easy tap-in on the other end. 2-1.
Less than a minute later, Palat failed to clear the puck out of the defensive zone on a flip that was recovered by Jack Rolslovic. Roslovic fed it to Aho, who took a contested wrist shot from the left faceoff dot that found its way through Allen. It was an awful play from start to finish. Palat lazily attempted a flip directly into a Hurricane player in front of him, which led to a shot that Allen would like to have back. 2-2.
Play in the third opened up with both teams trading shots, but the controversial and momentum-shifting play of the game came with a little over 13 minutes remaining in the period. Timo Meier laid a big hit on Necas in the neutral zone. Necas went down in a heap and was eventually helped off the ice by the training staff, but would return to the bench almost immediately. The play was reviewed, and Meier was assessed a five-minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct. In the following scrum, Kotkaniemi was given a two-minute minor for roughing. At game speed, I thought the hit looked clean, but on the replay, it was clear that Meier’s knee did make contact with Necas’ knee. As Bryce Salvador mentioned on the broadcast, Meier did not alter his path or extend his leg to make knee-on-knee contact with Necas. Nonetheless, Carolina clearly took exception to the hit, and the result was four-on-four play for two minutes, followed by a three-minute power play for Carolina.
New Jersey couldn’t get anything going during the four-on-four time, which felt like a “must score” moment with three minutes of a Carolina power play looming. The Devils failed to control the puck in a situation that almost always favors the Devils’ speed and creativity. There was a glimmer of hope when New Jersey killed more than the first two minutes of the Canes’ power play time. Carolina broke through with 45 seconds of penalty time remaining when Jackson Black tipped a Kotkaniemi wrist shot by Allen. Since it was a major penalty, the Devils had to kill the remaining 45 seconds and did so, but the momentum was shifting. 3-2.
The dagger would come less than two minutes later when a deflected dump in by Carolina led to a broken two-on-one in their favor as Palat got knocked down by Sean Walker. Seth Jarvis recovered the puck and slid a backhand pass to Jack Roslovic, who fired the puck top shelf over Allen. The Devils seemed to notably deflate following this goal. 4-2.
About a minute later, Erik Haula belted Orlov while pursuing a bouncing puck around Orlov’s feet behind the Carolina goal line. Another scrum ensued. Haula was assessed a roughing penalty, and as he was being escorted to the penalty box, Orlov left the bench area to attempt to sucker punch Haula, and the two wrestled to the ice. Orlov got the worst of the altercation and left the ice bleeding. Orlov was given two minutes for roughing. How he was only given a minor penalty for leaving the bench area and attacking a player being escorted to the box after all the extracurriculars were over is beyond me, but that is how this game was officiated.
New Jersey couldn’t muster much the rest of the way, even with the empty net. Roslovic would add an empty net goal. Carolina was not happy with the hits by Meier or Haula, and physical play was an emphasis throughout the ending minutes. Aho even attempted to show how tough he was by jousting and chirping with Jack Hughes. The game ended 5-2.
Takeaways
Playoff Matchup
The broadcast mentioned Carolina and New Jersey several times as a potential playoff matchup. If that is the case, New Jersey must find a way to counterpunch the aggressive, in-your-face pressure that the Hurricanes bring. Last night, the Devils made the crisp passes necessary to counteract the pressure, break out, and make plays. That was not the case tonight. New Jersey’s power play has been lethal against teams that are more passive on the penalty kill, allowing the Devils to establish their structure and passing lanes. Carolina does not allow that uncontested, and it worked. The Devils saw the same show during the 2022-2023 playoffs. If this really is going to be a playoff matchup again, head coach Sheldon Keefe needs to find some strategies that work against a Carolina team adept at taking away time and space.
Timo Meier’s Status
As I mentioned, I don’t think Timo’s hit on Necas in the third period tonight was dirty, but I am concerned the Department of Player Safety may rear its ugly head regarding this hit. Meier did not extend his leg to make knee-on-knee contact. It wasn’t nearly as egregious as Nikita Kucherov’s hit on Matthew Tkachuk earlier this month. Kucherov wasn’t suspended or fined for that knee-on-knee collision, and Meier shouldn’t be either. However, the Department of Play Safety doesn’t operate logically. Meier was suspended for the cross-check on Zachary L’Heureux about a month ago, which will not help him. Hopefully, common sense will win the day, and nothing further will be made of this hit, especially with Necas returning to the game almost immediately.
Jake Allen’s Performance
This game had some positives, and Jake Allen’s performance through two periods was one of them. Allen kept the Devils in this game, making some big saves. Other than the goal allowed to Aho early in the third period, Allen didn’t have a chance to stop Carolina’s other scoring plays. Did Allen play a good game for all 60 minutes? No, but neither did the team in front of him. This game could have gotten out of hand much earlier had Allen not come up with some big saves, particularly against Aho, on some grade-A chances in the second period. The Devils need better from Allen, even with Jacob Markstrom playing so well lately, and tonight was a sign that they might get it.
Cotter and Palat Score
Paul Cotter’s goal in the second period was his first since November 12th against Florida. As Cotter said in his interview between periods, he needed to bury that opportunity, and hopefully, the floodgates will open for him. The Devils need depth scoring, and if Cotter can contribute like he did to start the season, it would be a massive boost for the team.
Ondrej Palat has been providing an offensive boost for the team recently. Palat has tallied goals in his last two games and recorded points in four of the last five games. The line of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Palat has been clicking, and let’s hope it continues.
Up Next
The Devils will look to rebound against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center on New Year’s Eve at 8:00 PM EST.
Your Thoughts
What did you think about Timo Meier’s hit? How about Erik Haula’s hit? What were your thoughts on this game? How do you think the Devils match up against the Hurricanes in a playoff scenario? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for reading, and GO DEVILS!