Despite playing a well-structured game, the Devils fell to the Panthers in a shootout. Check out what happened in this recap.
The Result: The Florida Panthers defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in a shootout.
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 Devils jumped out to a strong start against the Panthers, pushing the pace of play for most of the period. With Stefan Noesen out with an illness, Tomas Tatar moved up to Nico Hischier’s line, and Kurtis MacDermid also joined the lineup. Both teams had power play opportunities in the first frame. Johnathan Kovacevic took a dumb, retaliatory cross-checking penalty after Matthew Tkachuk hit him from behind in a corner. Mackie Samoskevich was called for holding against Brett Pesce later in the period. Neither team could get much going with the man advantage. Paul Cotter and MacDermid set the tone with big hits. Timo Meier’s effort on the forecheck was noticeable. Jack Hughes’ line also stood out on the forecheck, but both teams played a solid strategic defensive game in the opening frame. The Devils simply cleared the puck out of the defensive end if no other breakout options were available, and the Panthers forced New Jersey to dump and chase as often as possible. Ultimately, New Jersey outshot Florida six to five, but neither team scored in the first period.
Second Period
The pace of play increased significantly in the second period, and Florida jumped on the offensive early. The Panthers crashed the net and put the pressure on the Devils through the first eight minutes of the period, but Jacob Markstrom was up to the challenge. New Jersey recaptured their game midway through the period and were able to counterpunch. The Hughes line, as well as Meier, put the pressure back on the Panthers. With just under eight minutes remaining in the period, Hischier beat a falling Panthers defenseman for a two-on-one, but Knight made the save. Possibly the best offensive chance for the Devils was a shot from the point that deflected right to Dawson Mercer. Mercer was staring at a wide-open net, but the puck handcuffed Mercer, and he could not get a stick on it. Despite the opening pressure from the Panthers, the second period ended with the shots 16 – 14 in favor of Florida. Neither team scored in the frame.
Third Period
The third period brought plenty of action. Just 41 seconds into the period, Carter Verhaeghe fed a pass from the left point through Brenden Dillon to former Devil Jesper Boqvist, who was able to outskate Ondrej Palat and beat Markstrom.
Hischier had a rebuttal ready and answered with his own goal a little over a minute later. Hischier took the puck from behind the net and shoveled it toward Nathan Bastian at the front of the net. The puck deflected up and past Spencer Knight. Tie game.
A couple of minutes after the goal, Matthew Tkachuk put his stamp on the game in the usual fashion. As Hischier turned up ice in the Devils’ defensive zone to follow a rimmed puck, Tkachuk caught him with a high hit, leaving his feet in the process. Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler took exception to the hit, jumped Tkachuk, and a scrum ensued. When the dust settled, Tkachuk received a two-minute penalty for roughing and two minutes for interference. Siegenthaler received a two-minute penalty for roughing. Considering that both Hischier and Siegenthaler jumped Tkachuk, and Hischier even dropped the gloves, I thought New Jersey was fortunate to be headed to the power play.
The Devils were unable to generate anything on their power play. The Panthers had the best scoring opportunity while New Jersey had the man advantage. Anton Lundell ripped a wrist shot on a breakaway, and Markstrom made another huge save. Florida carried the momentum and tilted the ice following the Devils’ power play.
New Jersey would redouble its efforts later in the period. Hischier had a scoring chance in close on Knight following a crisp pass from Brett Pesce at the point, but no luck. Knight also made strong saves on a backhand shot from Tatar and the rebound attempt from Paul Cotter, but the Devils couldn’t get anything through. Regulation time ended with the game tied 1-1.
Overtime
In overtime, the Devils took control of the puck early and recorded the majority of the shots in overtime. Jesper Bratt drove to the net within the first minute, but Knight saved his wrist shot. Tkachuk followed with a hard shot at the other end that missed the net. Jack Hughes and Bratt played well and recorded four shots to Florida’s one in the extra frame. Hughes had a couple of good stick checks on the backcheck during overtime but also had a bad turnover that led to a Verhaeghe scoring opportunity. The game remained tied at the end of overtime, so it went to a shootout.
Shootout
Cotter led off for the Devils and proved himself immediately by making a slick backhand to forehand deke to beat Knight. Aleksander Barkov responded with a low shot inside Markstrom’s stick-side skate for a goal. Bratt, Reinhart, and Jack Hughes would all miss their opportunities. Lundell put the final nail in the Devils’ coffin with a high wrister that beat Markstrom.
Takeaways
Patience and Structure
Throughout this game, the Devils took what the Panthers gave them in a positive way. If the initial breakout options in the defensive zone were covered, New Jersey cleared the puck however possible. The puck was dumped in if the forwards didn’t have numbers or lanes coming through the neutral zone. The Devils did have to weather some storms, but they didn’t give them much other than the Panthers’ lone scoring play. I take that as another positive step, especially after a strong game against the Lightning.
The Search for Depth Continues
Jack Hughes’ line played well. Nico Hischier’s line also had a strong game even without Stefan Noesen (although they did miss Noesen). I thought Timo Meier had an excellent game. Cotter, Bastian, and MacDermid brought the physical game, but the bottom six didn’t generate anything offensively again. At the least, those lines need to get traffic in front, throw pucks at the net, and see what happens. The Devils needed more from their depth players against a tough Florida team.
Power Play
The Devils went 0-2 and didn’t take advantage of their power plays. In the power play after the Tkachuk hit, I expected a little fire and extra effort, but New Jersey only recorded one shot. Not only that, the Devils forced Markstrom to make a HUGE save to avoid a back-breaking shorthanded goal. Per NHL.com, Florida’s penalty kill is average at 14th in the NHL, so those were missed opportunities.
Up Next
The Devils will travel to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Your Thoughts
What did you think of the Devils’ play tonight? What did you think of the hit on Hischier? What did you think of Cotter’s shootout move? Let us know in the comments below. Thank you for reading, and GO DEVILS!!