Despite a fluke of a first goal against, the Devils scored four unanswered and killed a five-minute major penalty en route to a victory over the Predators.
Since his success as a head coach last season, former New Jersey Devils associate coach Andrew Brunette has not been as pleased with his Nashville Predators this year. Still, given it had been nine years since the Devils beat Nashville at home in New Jersey, it remained to be seen whether the Devils could beat Juuse Saros enough, despite what has turned out to be a disastrous offseason by Barry Trotz. As it turned out…Nashville was in for some business.
First Period
Trying to create a two-on-one rush in the first minute of the game, Jesper Bratt drew a hooking penalty from Alexandre Carrier, sending the Devils to the power play. On that power play, after getting some shots on goal, Dougie Hamilton set up Stefan Noesen at the side of the net, but Noesen was denied by Juuse Saros after kicking the puck to his stick. The first unit tried more backdoor plays, but Noesen just missed a redirection on a pass from Bratt. Saros was tested by Erik Haula on the second wave, but they did not get another good chance before the penalty expired.
Filip Forsberg scored on Nashville’s first shot of the game on a play where Nashville couldn’t even get the puck away from the wall. Jacob Markström did not pick the shot up in time, and he was beaten over his blocker just over five minutes into the game. Nashville took a 1-0 lead on a slow, long-distance seeing-eye shot.
The Devils did not allow a single shot against in the six and a half minutes that spanned between Forsberg’s goal and Erik Haula’s answer. Johnny Kovačević had the puck towards the goal line after taking a pass from Dawson Mercer. Kovačević centered the puck, finding Erik Haula on the far side or a redirection! Tying the game at 1-1, the Devils let the building take a breath by earning that goal.
With 2:35 to play in the period, Erik Haula took a hooking penalty on Cole Smith, sending Nashville to their first power play. Steven Stamkos faked a slap shot before feeding the far side of the net, but the Predators were unable to score on the frantic Markström, thanks to the efforts of Brenden Dillon and Johnny Kovačević. Jack Hughes and Ondrej Palat took an offensive zone draw at the start of the second minute, but Jack lost the draw and was forced to defend. Back in the defensive zone, Brett Pesce and Jonas Siegenthaler held the puck up against the boards for most of the remaining time. When Nashville finally worked it loose, they had what seemed like a sure goal when Jacob Markström turned himself around in the crease after Gustav Nyquist, making it seem like Nashville had scored before somehow saving a shot from Tommy Novak while trying to turn himself around. Then making a final pad stop on Stamkos, Markström finished off his part of the first period with a bang before Paul Cotter made a beautiful move on the other end at the last second, to be denied by Saros.
Second Period
Timo Meier tripped Filip Forsberg right off the period-opening draw, giving Nashville another power play. However, Nashville lost the zone early and struggled to establish possession as they had on their first opportunity. The Predators’ first unit stayed on for the second minute, and they had some late attempts that hit a couple legs and a post. The Devils, though, survived their kill.
With the Hischier line on the ice, Luke Hughes whistled a one-timer, just missing the net on what looked like a great chance for him to do something with the puck. On the other end, Brett Pesce blocked a rush shot, facilitating a counterattack in which Timo Meier drew defenders to him in the neutral zone, springing Nico Hischier ahead with a pass to his right., Nico went slipping past the defense before he slipped the puck through the five hole of Juuse Saros! The Devils took the 2-1 lead on Nico Hischier’s 11th goal of the season, breaking a 10-game goal drought.
Timo Meier had a golden chance to extend the lead when Stefan Noesen sent the puck to him from the corner as the game neared its halfway point, but Meier could not beat the right pad of Saros before Roman Josi denied Noesen a chaotic dash at the rebound. The Devils got a break when Nashville was called for too many men on the ice, and they were all over Nashville on the power play. While Jeremy Lauzon went at it with Nico Hischier as the puck was cleared down the ice, with Lauzon throwing Hischier to the ice by Saros and Hischier throwing Lauzon’s stick in response, the officials allowed Dougie Hamilton to take the puck up the ice without a whistle. Stefan Noesen again just missed redirecting a quick feed through the netfront, but the Devils kept the puck moving until it was trickling around following a Dougie Hamilton shot. Nico Hischier came in whipped the loose puck past Saros! The Captain gave the Devils a 3-1 lead.
Luke Hughes tripped up Alex Carrier during an odd-man chance for Nashville, and the Devils went back to the penalty kill. Erik Haula, Jesper Bratt, Brenden Dillon, and Johnny Kovačević started the kill, with Haula losing the draw. However, Johnny Kovačević was all over the puck near the net, and this kill unit got the puck down a couple times before Dawson Mercer came on the ice with Ondrej Palat. Mercer took a loose puck for a one-on-one rush the other way, putting a hard shot on goal through Josi’s legs that Saros sent to the corner. Markström only faced one shot on goal, stopping Tommy Novak through some traffic before the penalty expired.
Shane Bowers joined a three-on-two with Erik Haula and Tomas Tatar in with just four minutes to play in the period, shooting low on Saros on a one-timer feed from Haula. Tatar got his stick on the rebound, but could not handle the puck long enough to open up the necessary to score, as he, too, was denied by Saros. Juuse could only do so much for so long, though, as Brady Skjei turned the puck over to Timo Meier in the neutral zone. Meier spun a pass to Nico Hischier, who was all alone on Saros with the goalie coming out to challenge the Captain. Nico slowed up and beat Saros with a flub-shot through the five hole, giving the Devils a 4-1 lead for a natural hat trick! The Prudential Center crowd chanted Nico’s name after play resumed, and Nashville looked deflated as they contemplated their path to a comeback, nearly allowing another goal to the third line in a scramble in the final minute of the period — another indication that the team was just waiting out the clock.
Third Period
Scott Wedgewood came in for Juuse Saros in the third period. Nashville came out soft again, icing the puck three times in the first minute or so. Erik Haula gifted them a holding penalty, as he grabbed Brady Skjei to put the Devils back on the penalty kill when the Devils had a chance to put their foot down on Nasvhille’s throat. On the power play, things looked frantic for a moment when Jacob Markström went sprawling for a save on Tommy Novak — but the puck never got through the Devils penalty killers, who blocked three shots in short order to prevent Nashville from registering another shot on goal, with Nashville only getting one from Stamkos in the first 10 seconds of the power play.
The Devils were caught sleeping amidst a change when Zachary L’Heureux got behind the fourth line and the Dillon-Hamilton pairing, who were almost all stacked up on the blueline. L’Heureux made a simple move and beat Jacob Markström through the five hole, making it a 4-2 game with a bit over 12 minutes to play.
Scott Wedgewood made sure to keep the game where it was. After making a save on a slap shot from Pesce, Wedgewood faced high-danger chances from Timo Meier and Nico Hischier, as Hischier came close to his fourth goal of the game. Hischier’s first shot was through Meier, from distance, and Meier hit the post on the rebound. After taking the puck away in the neutral zone, Nico had a partial break just seconds later that was saved and sent out of play by Wedgewood.
After Zachary L’Heureux threw a backside check, interfering with Paul Cotter in the neutral zone and hurting his hip, the Devils were barking at L’Heureux for a few minutes. After Timo Meier took a shot on goal, L’Heureux checked him close to the boards, and Meier responded with a cross-check in L’Heureux’s face, getting a five minute major and game misconduct penalty for injuring L’Heureux.
Nico Hischier won the draw, and Dawson Mercer cleared the puck to start the major penalty kill. After a save by Markström, Hischier won another draw, but Siegenthaler turned the puck over. Siegenthaler later knocked the puck to Hischier for the Captain to bat down the ice, giving them the chance to change with 3:45 left to kill and just under 6:30 left to play. Jack Hughes came out for a shift, blocking a shot high and forcing the Predators back before later flipping the puck out of the defensive zone after Dawson Mercer interrupted a dangerous pass. With another clear after that, it was down to under two minutes to kill and around 4:30 to play.
Erik Haula and Jesper Bratt had a two-on-one, and Wedgewood gloved the shot from Haula before sprinting to the bench. After Brett Pesce was interfered with by Marchessault and lost his stick, Dawson Mercer brought one of his sticks to him on a change and then blocked a high shot without a stick. Pesce, then in the lane, was able to stymie the Nashville attack further. The Devils dominated the penalty kill, with one shot on goal for each side before Justin Dowling came out of the box. Dowling, one of three men (Luke Hughes, Tatar) to not be on the ice for the Devils during those five minutes, got the puck in the neutral zone and scored on the empty net! The Devils sealed their win at a 5-2 score, spitting on the major penalty assessed for Meier’s response to L’Heureux.
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
Who Was Down in the Third?
You might expect a trailing team to dominate chances in the third period. Tonight, however, despite starting the period down three, and despite having a five-minute power play, Nashville only had three shots in the third period. The Devils had 16 shots, outshooting the Predators 46-21 in total. For a team that had one shot — and one goal — through the first 11 or 12 minutes, the Predators had a decent finish to the first period, but they fell completely flat for the remainder of the game.
In the second, the Devils were on a mission, putting 19 shots on goal and generating 2.13 expected goals as Nico Hischier put three past Saros in one period. Whatever Sheldon Keefe said to his team after the first period must have been enlightening, because Nashville’s defense had no answers for the Devils as the game went on. Nico Hischier, during his second intermission interview, noted that the Predators could not handle their speed, and it showed.
Penalties? They Were Shorthanded?
After Nashville put together a solid power play at the end of the first period, putting three shots on Jacob Markström, the Devils killed 11 more shorthanded minutes while only being outshot four to three in those minutes. Coming away from a five-minute penalty kill — in which the other team played over a minute at six-on-four — with just one shot against, leading to an empty net goal to seal the game is a mark of a team that cannot be stopped. There seems to be no level of getting under their skin that the Devils will succumb to. This is a different team.
Nico’s Hat Trick
He had three and he could have had more, but it was a wonderful thing to see Nico Hischier get his first career hat trick tonight. Earning two of his goals at even strength, he put results to the improved work from his line with Timo Meier and Stefan Noesen tonight. That line had been having a rough patch, and it seemed like Meier and Hischier clicked for the first time in several nights starting with that second period. Their line dominated play, only getting a blemish from the Forsberg wall-goal in the first period. But, with him back at a point per game, I am looking for Nico to take this line to this level more consistently over the next several weeks. The Captain is on a mission.
Your Thoughts
What did you think of tonight’s game? With the team at 8-2-0 in their last 10 games, sitting first in the Metropolitan Division, what are you looking for as the Devils face the Blues and Red Wings before two more divisional matches against Washington and the Rangers on Saturday and Monday? What did you think of Hischier’s night? Any other performances you would like to pinpoint? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.