Horrific Second Period Sinks New Jersey Devils in 3-2 Loss to Ottawa Senators

One game after an inexcusably bad third period cost the Devils two points, a horrific second period was the key in their second straight loss

The New Jersey Devils have made a habit recently of putting forth terrible efforts in third periods. In the last 10 days, games against the Edmonton Oilers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Calgary Flames have seen New Jersey seemingly forget how to play hockey after the 40-minute mark. It didn’t cost them against the Oilers or Blue Jackets, but they paid the price in a regulation loss to the Flames last time out. Well this time around, the Devils decided to get a jump on no-showing a period, as they allowed three goals in an embarrassing second period in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

After the meltdown against the Flames, head coach Sheldon Keefe, captain Nico Hischier, and a slew of other players all seemed bewildered as to what happened to them. It’s as if they believed a wizard came down from the mountains and put a curse on them for the final 20 minutes against Calgary, like they had no agency of their own. It was a little alarming to see them react with confusion and shock, as opposed to confident determination that it was a bad result that they wouldn’t allow to happen again.

Well happen again it did, but one period early this time.

In tonight’s second period, the Devils were outshot 8-6, which really doesn’t tell the story at all considering shots were 8-1 in the frame at one point. Ottawa took their foot off the gas pedal after scoring three. What’s more, it’s not like those cosmetic shots New Jersey put up actually threatened to find the back of the net. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Devils posted a 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% of 19.01%. High Danger Chances in the second were 4-0 in favor of Ottawa, and while New Jersey did manage to score in the second period (a power play goal by Hischier) it was IMMEDIATELY followed by a tripping call on Stefan Noesen and a Senators power play goal of their own to blunt what little momentum the Devils gained from Hischier’s tally.

Brady Tkachuk scored first tonight, a redirection from just outside the crease that beat Jake Allen. Brenden Dillon and Brian Dumoulin were both standing right next to Tkachuk, but for some reason it never occurred to either of them to tie up the stick of a player whose entire game revolves around just standing around the front of the net hoping good things will happen. Goal, 1-0.

Half a minute later (33 seconds to be exact), Dylan Cozens found Drake Batherson completely unmarked on the doorstep, and Batherson tapped in another easy score. To be fair there was some luck involved in that one, as a point shot caromed off Timo Meier and directly to Cozens. But that chaos was brought on by the Devils’ own ineptitude. They failed to win any battles, connect on a pass, and get a clear, and it cost them. Goal, 2-0.

After Hischier ripped home a one-timer off a sweet Jesper Bratt feed (more on that below), Noesen took his aforementioned penalty. It was a mere 32 seconds after Hischier scored. The call was a little ticky tack, but far from a grave injustice. On the ensuing power play, Claude Giroux cranked a slap shot toward the net, and it banked off David Perron’s leg and in. In the blink of an eye, the Devils had all their momentum ripped away. Goal, 3-1.

The two 5-on-5 goals were emblematic of that entire period. New Jersey completely lost their defensive structure, allowing chance after chance the other way. Allen wasn’t all-world tonight, but he did make some strong saves to keep the game from getting completely out of hand. His teammates utterly failed him in the middle frame tonight. And that’s to say nothing of a completely nonexistent offense. I can’t remember the last time I saw a team fail to execute simple passes at the scale New Jersey did in the second period. Really it was a problem all night long, but the second was wear it manifested the most.

And what’s even more alarming to me is that this did not come against one of the elite teams in this league. This came against a solid but far from spectacular Senators team. Yes they have some skill, and yes they like to play a physical game (although that physicality crosses over into just straight up dirty play a lot. The Senators are one of the dirtiest teams in the league in my opinion, which is no surprise considering who their captain is). But this is not a team full of Connor McDavids or Cale Makars. The fact that the Devils couldn’t put up a strong effort against a team as average as this is disturbing.

Anyway, that 3-1 score held until under half a minute to go when Erik Haula scored with the net pulled to bring the Devils to within one. And incredibly, New Jersey came very close to notching the tying goal in the dying seconds of regulation after a few players took shots toward the net in the shift after the Haula goal. But the bounces did not go New Jersey’s way, and they suffered another regulation loss.

Once again, this team fails to show up for a 20-minute interval, and it costs them. I didn’t think they played the best first period, they certainly weren’t crisp with their passes or decision making. But it was a reasonable opening frame. And the third period was pretty much all Devils, but that’s what happens when a team turtles as hard as the Senators did. We’ve seen that plenty over the last 10 days or so from New Jersey, and it’s telling that Ottawa almost suffered a catastrophic fate for their decision to play not to lose. But either way, New Jersey did dominate the third (a 5-on-5 xGF% of 83.15% per NST), and while score effects were a huge factor in that, I will still credit the Devils for generating chances.

But it wasn’t enough, and now all of a sudden after a recent stretch of four wins in five games, New Jersey has lost two in a row and is back into “Less than a lock” territory to make the postseason. I still think it is more likely than not they will get in, but if this trend of forgetting how to play for 20 minutes at a time continues, they might just complete this slow motion collapse that has been going on since late December.

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: Courtesy of the NHL’s website

Congratulations

On a night with very little to celebrate, one moment deserves mention.

With his assist on Nico Hischier’s power play goal, Jesper Bratt notched his 61st assist, setting a new franchise record for assists in a single season:

Scott Stevens set the previous mark in 1993-94. Congratulations to Bratt for breaking a 31-year old franchise record, what an amazing accomplishment for a 6th round draft pick. Simply put, Bratt is one of the greatest draft picks in franchise history. Here’s to many more assists in a long and fruitful NHL career.

And while not as noteworthy, I do want to also mention that Hischier’s goal was his 30th on the season. It’s the second time in his career he’s reached the 30-goal plateau, with the other instance being his 31 goals in 2022-23, and with 11 games to go he has a great chance to set a new personal best.

And by the way, according to the MSG Broadcast tonight, Hischier became only the second Swiss-born player in NHL history to post multiple 30-goal campaigns. The only other player to do it? Timo Meier. Congrats to the captain.

Getting His Foote In The Door

Nolan Foote was recalled from Utica for this game. It was his third game at the NHL level this season, and his first since November 27th against the St. Louis Blues.

How did he do? He played 9:45, mostly on a line with Dawson Mercer and Daniel Sprong. He had one shot on goal, and a 5-on-5 xGF% of 45.27%.

In a word…meh. It’s hard to expect too much out of him, so I thought his game was fine tonight. It would be nice if he could put forth some more noteworthy performances though.

Please Win A Faceoff

The Devils went 1-for-3 on their power plays tonight. On paper that’s a great mark. But it could’ve been more. Whether it was Nico Hischier or someone else taking the draw for him, the Devils consistently lost faceoffs on the power play tonight, and it cost them anywhere from 15-20 seconds of zone time, not to mention what other time they lost on failed entries.

And while it wasn’t on a power play, when Haula scored late to give the Devils a sliver of hope, New Jersey lost the ensuing faceoff at center ice, costing them about another 10-15 seconds of potential zone time.

At the macro level, I don’t think faceoffs matter all that much. But at the micro level, some situational draws like on power plays or after a goal that pulls you to within one with less than a minute to play are extremely crucial. Who knows, maybe one more faceoff won would’ve tipped the scales tonight.

Wow

This was Sheldon Keefe after the game:

On the one hand, that is an alarming callout of an important player, and I hope it doesn’t fracture the locker room too much. But on the other hand, good for Keefe for tearing into his players when their effort is clearly unacceptable, and is fracturing a locker room that produces efforts like this really the worst thing in the world anyway?

I really am torn on whether I think this was a good move or a bad move on Keefe’s part. I suppose time will tell.

Next Time Out

The Devils continue their battles against Canadian teams when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. Puck drop is a little later than usual at 7:30pm.

Your Take

Were you as disgusted at that second period as I was? What do you think of Keefe’s razor sharp criticism of Kovacevic? What do you expect next time out? As always, thanks for reading.