Untimely Mistakes and Uneven Performance Lead to 4-3 Devils Overtime Loss to Islanders

They tied the game three times, but Jake Allen was not the better goaltender.

First Period

The New Jersey Devils did not get off to a better start tonight. Just a minute and 23 seconds into the game, Adam Pelech took a point shot that was deflected by Brock Nelson past Jake Allen. It was a tough shot for Allen with the stick, screen, and ultimate shot placement, and the Islanders went up 1-0.

Then, just past four minutes in, Jonas Siegenthaler took a tripping penalty. Jake Allen kicked out a big rebound after an early clearing dump, but Johnny Kovacevic was there to sweep it away. After a stoppage, Brett Pesce and Allen just averted a potential rebound goal to allow the Devils to push the New York Islanders back once more. The Devils had another successfully penalty kill, and Ilya Sorokin stuffed a wraparound try the other way from Jesper Bratt, after Jack Hughes shimmied around the defensive zone to get the puck out.

Jake Allen came up big when he faced Bo Horvat on a quick break. Horvat’s shot trickled through, and the Islanders tried to bank it in off Allen when Hamilton couldn’t find the puck in his skates, but Hischier got the loose puck away. The Islanders kept up the pressure on the Devils, with Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau just missing on a chance by the net a couple minutes later.

Timo Meier used his speed and strength to make a scoring chance for himself on the rush, zipping through the Islanders defense with a head of steam — but his backhand shot went wide of goal. It would have been nice to get a rebound there, as he had both Hischier and Mercer on his sides. Still, the Devils’ Euro line kept at it, with Brendan Dillon taking a shot in tight pressure at the point, allowing Jesper Bratt to get a loose puck after the shot was blocked. Bratt swung it around for Nico Hischier, who shot it top shelf! The Devils tied the game, 1-1!

Jake Allen made an adventurous move to dive and poke a loose puck away from a breaking Bo Horvat, who shot way wide of goal from the goal line after getting the poked puck. Then, Brenden Dillon had the Devils go back to the penalty kill, taking a slashing call on Simon Holmstrom. The Devils looked good for most of this penalty kill, with the team getting the puck to the other end multiple times. But with just two seconds left, Jake Allen left a big rebound for Anders Lee, with Hamilton on the other side of the net — and Lee roofed it. 2-1, Islanders, with just under six minutes to play in the period.

Second Period

Kurtis MacDermid hit the show — with a giant open ice hit on Alex Romanov, which sent the tough defenseman’s helmet flying. Scott Mayfield went chasing MacDermid as the Devils went on the attack, and MacDermid wailed on Mayfield as they dropped the gloves. As trainers attended to Romanov on the bench, the officials discussed whether to give an additional minor penalty — and they gave the power play to the Devils for an extra roughing to Mayfield. An instigator penalty would have kept Mayfield out of the game for 10 minutes, but officials opted for the roughing call.

Dougie Hamilton went down at the blueline, allowing Kyle MacLean a breakaway, which Allen saved towards the end of the first minute of the power play. Romanov laid a hit on Jack Hughes on a zone entry, which drew a lot of attention after the Devils got Sorokin to cover the puck for a stoppage. Luke Hughes turned the puck over to MacLean right in front of Allen after a Islanders clearance, but Allen made the saves on MacLean to keep the game close.

The fourth line, with Cotter in place of MacDermid, went racing for the puck behind the net off a dump play, taking down a referee. The Devils kept at the puck pursuit, and Curtis Lazar took a one-timer from Cotter and scored! The Devils tied the game for the seocnd time just five and a half minutes into the second period!

Kyle Palmieri got a tip on a slap shot from the point with eight and a half minutes to play in the period to retake the lead for the Islanders. It looked like an easy play for Allen at first glance, but the stick of Palmieri was just enough to get him to miss. 3-2, Islanders. This goal seemed to shift momentum for the Islanders, who began to get more pressure on Allen after they got their third.

Dawson Mercer was the beneficiary of a very favorable bounce, giving him a breakaway with just under five minutes to play. Mercer went for the glove and just couldn’t lift the puck over the arm of Sorokin. The Devils pushed the attack, but Sorokin made more saves to preserve the Islanders lead. Then, on a seemingly innocuous shift for the Hughes line, the Devils were called for interference with the puck in the offensive zone, sending Jesper Bratt to the box for his battle with Pelech in front of the net.

On the penalty kill, Nico Hischier blocked a shot and took it the other way for a one-on-one shot, which was saved by Sorokin. Erik Haula later made a great play to disrupt a pass through the high slot, allowing the Devils to get fresh skaters late in the kill to get through the two minutes. Looking to get a spark, Sheldon Keefe sent out Nico Hischier with Hughes and Bratt. Just as Hischier went off with the puck in the offensive zone, Dougie Hamilton applied pressure on the wall to create a turnover to Jack Hughes in the slot, who just missed tying the game as he was taken down by a trip from Ryan Pulock.

The second unit started the power play, and the Devils just missed another chance with Tatar trying to follow up a rebound from Meier with a shot, with Mercer creating traffic in front. Unfortunately, Tatar missed Mercer and the net, and the Devils went to the second intermission still down one.

Third Period

The Devils had 54 seconds of carryover power play time, and Dougie Hamilton took a shot that went wide of goal. The Devils could not get a good shot on goal out of the remaining time, but they kept possession following the power play for a while, and Luke Hughes had a shot miss the net a couple minutes into the period. Of course, with the Islanders on their heels, the Devils iced the puck shortly after that missed shot, when they had to collect the puck in their own end.

Ilya Sorokin made a big pad save on a Jack Hughes wraparound to keep his team in front near the seven-minute mark of the period, as Nico Hischier could not bang the rebound past Sorokin and missed the net in traffic. In a rare offensive shift for the Islanders, Dougie Hamilton took a hooking penalty to prevent Kyle MacLean from potting a rebound, and the Devils went to the kill with 11 minutes to play.

Jake Allen made an early save on Mat Barzal to set another faceoff with just 14 seconds passed in the kill. Hischier lost the second draw, and the Islanders got into their power play set-up. The Islanders kept the puck on the outside, shooting from a distance a few times before the Devils could get a partial change. An Islanders offsides allowed a full change for the second half of the kill. After the neutral zone draw, Curtis Lazar was able to get a clear down the ice for the Devils, and the rest of the kill went pretty smoothly.

With just a few minutes to play, Jesper Bratt went speeding down the ice to get the puck into the offensive zone after a lengthy board battle in the other end. The Devils battled again for the puck behind the net, with Bratt winning it out but being unable to perform the wraparound. Palat got a backhand shot that was gloved by Sorokin. Jake Allen was put under a lot of pressure as the final three minutes neared, sprawling to keep the puck out with the Islanders buzzing.

The Devils pulled Allen in the final two minutes. Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes played catch for a bit, and Jack used Dougie as a decoy to set up a one-timer for Mercer, which was blocked. But it was blocked right to Jesper Bratt, who lifted the backhand past Sorokin to tie the game with just 1:29 to play!

Overtime

Nico Hischier had the puck in the offensive zone right off the draw, taking a pass from Jack Hughes, and he ran a shot off the crossbar! Brett Pesce swung away at the rebound, but the Devils had to collect the puck in tehir own end to take another rush. This one did not amount to anything, and the Islanders had a possession — and Allen could not follow the pass for an easy one-timer by Bo Horvat. Hamilton lost his man on the play, but the shot could not have been better placed for Allen to make a stop — and the Islanders won, 4-3.

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

Confounding

As far as I could tell, most of the Devils did what they needed to do to win the game tonight. All four lines were a factor on the ice in one way or another. There was big-time physicality from Kurtis MacDermid. Brenden Dillon, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Johnny Kovacevic played strong games, while Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes seemed to shake off more rust in their second game. So why did the Devils not win this game? Why could they not take the lead or win the game in overtime?

Dougie Hamilton bears some of the blame for the loss tonight. He was on the wrong side of the net for the Islanders’ power play goal off the stick of Anders Lee, and he was was supposed to defend Horvat in overtime. He was still on the ice for some good offensive play, and one of the bad plays he was involved in (a shorthanded breakaway against) seemed to be the product of a bad spot in the ice catching his skate. So, maybe Dougie isn’t the righty to be on the penalty kill anymore. The Devils have Pesce and Kovacevic — and both were available when Lee scored his goal. Maybe it’s time to start limiting his ice time there.

Nico just missed the game-winner in overtime, maybe by a centimeter or two, after playing another fantastic game. The Devils worked back from three deficits to get a point from the overtime loss column — an area where they really struggled to make up ground in the standings last season. So, it is not all bad tonight. It is just disappointing that they had the makings of a great divisional win, but could not muster the consistency to pull it out.

Jake Allen was not bad, but he did not give much help in the end, either. I was hoping he would be lights out after being hammered for eight goals in his last appearance, but he was victimized on a couple deflections and left out too many rebounds. That rebound to Lee was not a great one for Allen, but the shot he really needed to be better on was Horvat’s overtime winner. Yes, Dougie got caught covering Horvat as the latter went around the net, but the shot was not Horvat’s best.

If the team does this again on Sunday, I think they should get back in the win column. It didn’t always look great in the first period, but I think the team’s structure really held up against the Islanders. Since this was the end of a back-to-back and Patrick Roy and Lou Lamoriello’s Islanders are known for their strong, suffocating structure, I take that as a positive for the team.

Still, the wins need to come soon.

Your Thoughts

What did you think of tonight’s game? How did you feel about the effort level? Do you think the team played a good game? Or do you think they still look lost? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.