The Devils were able to able to start the new year right at The Rock with an overtime win against the Lightning. Check out what happened in this recap.
The Result: The New Jersey Devils defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by a final score of 3-2 in overtime.
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 opened the game, matching Tampa’s speed and intensity. Both teams exchanged scoring chances, but New Jersey outshot the Lightning 14 to nine. Five minutes into the opening period, the Devils had a three-on-one opportunity. Dougie Hamilton labeled a shot for the top corner, but Andrei Vasilevskiy made the glove save. About a minute later, Mitchell Chaffee beat Luke Hughes wide to the right side with speed and rang a shot off the post for Tampa.
With just under 12 minutes remaining in the period, Jesper Bratt jumped on a Tampa turnover on the boards and slid a pass to Hamilton at the point. Hamilton unleashed a wrist shot from the point that Ondrej Palat tipped past Andrei Vasilevskiy. 1-0.
As expected, the Lightning made a push after New Jersey’s goal. In the following minute, a shot by Conor Geekie hit traffic in front, and the puck was recovered by Anthony Cirelli, who got a shot off from the slot. Jacob Markstrom got over to make one of his many strong saves of the night. About two minutes after New Jersey’s goal, following a faceoff loss, Victor Hedman wristed a shot from the point that glanced off Johnathan Kovacevic, causing the puck to change direction and beat Markstrom. 1-1.
The Devils rallied and finished the period with a push of their own. With about three minutes remaining in the period, a well-timed poke check by Kovacevic led to an odd-man rush for New Jersey. Jack Hughes held the puck and eventually ripped a wrist shot a hair wide of the net. Then, with 30 seconds left in the period, Jack Hughes recovered a loose puck in the slot in the Devils’ end and made a beautiful saucer pass to a streaking Bratt for a breakaway. Bratt beat Vasilevskiy with a hard shot but rang the post.
While the Devils recorded more shots than the Lightning, too many were clean looks for Vasilevskiy. As the period progressed, Tampa was the grittier team in the corners and board battles. New Jersey would correct this in the following period and make a better defensive effort. The first period ended with the score 1-1.
Second Period
The second period has been the Devils’ best period all year, and this game was no different. Initially, the period started evenly, with both teams successfully breaking the puck out of their defensive ends, but the Devils would step on the gas. The first strong shift in the period for New Jersey began with the third line pinning the Lightning in their defensive end with just over five minutes elapsed. The offensive pressure bled into the following shift. Paul Cotter, Justin Dowling, Dawson Mercer, Luke Hughes, and Bratt all had shots or shot attempts, keeping the pressure on Tampa. Unfortunately, Vasilevskiy was up to the challenge.
With 11:46 remaining in the period, Nathan Bastian was called for hooking as he battled for a flipped puck against Nick Perbix. It appeared that Perbix pinned Bastian’s stick in his midsection but got the call. The Lightning were able to put pressure on the Devils’ penalty kill with some big blasts from Hedman at the point, but the Devils forced Tampa to the outside and got some big blocks, one in particular from Mercer.
During the penalty kill, Jack Hughes was knocked down by Brayden Point in the neutral zone, which could have been called interference but was not. It was unfortunate for New Jersey because Hughes looked like he could have been off to the races with a loose puck for a prime scoring opportunity. Almost a minute later, the Devils would benefit from a hooking call on Emil Lilleberg drawn by Hughes. New Jersey only recorded a couple of shots from Nico Hischier on the ensuing power play.
Just like Markstrom, Vasilevskiy was on top of his game tonight. Following yet another strong pad save on Jonas Siegenthaler and with the frustration building, the Devils were able to break through. With under five minutes remaining in the second period, Jack Hughes picked off a puck in the neutral zone and carried it into Tampa’s end. Hughes fired a wrist shot that deflected off of Brayden Point’s stick and into the top corner of the net. 2-1.
Again, Tampa would push back immediately and hemmed the Devils up in their defensive zone for what felt like the next two minutes. With a little over a minute left in the period, Markstrom made an excellent save on a deceptive wrist shot from Nikita Kucherov from the high slot. The Devils weathered the storm, but Cotter was called for a high sticking penalty with seconds remaining in the period. New Jersey finished the period up 2-1 but with a Lightning power play looming to start the third period.
Third Period
The Devils began the third period with two solid penalty kills, but the play of the penalty kill was the only positive. After killing Cotter’s penalty, Brenden Dillon was called for a high-sticking penalty a couple of minutes later. The MSG broadcast had trouble finding the penalty to show viewers, but a penalty was called nonetheless.
Markstrom submitted another entry for Save of the Year one minute into the second penalty kill. Point pulled a puck across the crease to give himself a wide-open net. Point slid a shot on the ice toward the goal mouth, but Marky dove across the crease to pin the puck under an outstretched arm. What an unbelievable save on what was a sure goal!
Jacob Markstrom is going be big mad that Jacob Markstrom just outdid him for save of the year. Again. pic.twitter.com/0LF2q37Ffv
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 12, 2025
The Devils may have killed off both penalties, but the Lightning carried all the momentum from the power plays for the remainder of the period. With just under 12 minutes in the frame, Jack Hughes tried to tip a hard pass into the Lightning zone, but the puck hit the referee and was recovered by Tampa. Brandon Hagel passed to Kucherov for a breakaway while the Devils’ defensemen were cheating up ice. Kucherov was able to beat Markstrom on his stick side. Brutal goal. 2-2.
New Jersey recorded their one and only shot of the period at the 5:52 mark. It was a sneaky shot from Luke Hughes from the point that traveled through traffic and had a chance to go in, but Vasilevskiy made the stop. Markstrom kept the Devils in the game and stopped nine shots in the period, including another glove save on a hard wrister from Kucherov through a Devils defenseman. New Jersey was fortunate to end the third period with the score tied 2-2.
Overtime
New Jersey played an intelligent possession game in overtime, controlling the puck for much of the period. At the 3:16 mark, Nick Paul tripped Jack Hughes as he attempted to evade the Lightning forward. The Devils tallied a couple of shots from Hischier and Jack Hughes in the ensuing four-on-three but could not solve Vasilevskiy.
At a stoppage in play with about a minute remaining in the power play, head coach Sheldon Keefe took his timeout and sent out four forwards (Hischier, Hughes, Bratt, and Noesen) for the remaining man advantage time. More on this decision by Keefe later. Jack Hughes attempted a pass through Tampa’s defensive formation, but the puck was deflected by a Tampa stick. Fortunately, Stefan Noesen recovered the puck in the slot and ripped a turnaround slapper past Vasilevskiy’s glove side! DEVILS WIN 3-2!!!
Takeaways
Keefe Deserves Praise
Sheldon Keefe deserves recognition for his decision-making in overtime. Not only did the timeout give the top power play performers a breather, but it allowed the team to adjust their strategy. Removing all defensemen from the four-on-three power play unit was a bold move, but it was clear the emphasis was to get traffic in front of Vasilevskiy. Too many of New Jersey’s shots were clean looks, and the future Hall of Fame netminder is too good for that. The plan for the remaining power play time was to take advantage of Noesen’s skill set in front of the net. As Jack mentioned in the post-game interviews, the play resulting in the game-winning goal didn’t go as planned, but it got the puck where they wanted it to go anyway. All of Keefe’s decisions paid off.
Hughes is Heating Up
Despite it being a broken play, Jack tallied an assist on that game-winning goal to accompany his goal in the second period. Hughes had a three-game drought in points transitioning into 2025 but has six points in the last four games, including a goal and assist in the previous two games.
Hughes (and his line) also played more responsible defensively against the Lightning. A good example is the backcheck, where Jack gathered a loose puck in front of the net and delivered a beautiful pass to Bratt for a breakaway at the end of the first period. Hughes is now +10 on the season, a drastic improvement from his -12 record through 62 games in the 2023-2024 campaign.
Puck Luck
I had hoped that the Devils’ puck luck had changed for the better when Jack’s shot deflected off of Point’s stick and into the net. I was wrong. The dump-in deflection by the referee to catch New Jersey’s defensemen cheating up ice was brutal. That puck probably goes into the offensive zone almost ten out of ten times, but not tonight. It was all part of a bad period for the Devils, but who knows what happens if Kucherov doesn’t get that breakaway. At least the night ended with a positive result despite the tough puck luck on that play.
Strong Penalty Kill
New Jersey’s penalty kill was three for three tonight against the fourth-ranked power play in the NHL. In the previous two games, the Devils surrendered two power-play goals to the Rangers and one to the Kraken. Tampa had offensive zone pressure during their power play, but New Jersey maintained their structure and forced most of the shots from the outside. The Devils’ penalty kill must get back on track.
Your Thoughts
Were you at The Rock tonight? How did you think the Devils played? What did you think of Sheldon Keefe’s moves in overtime? Let us know in the comments below. Thank you for reading, and GO DEVILS!!