Saturday night, the New Jersey Devils took on the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. The Devils were looking for a bounce back to bring a surge to the team for upcoming games, and to erase any panic that had arisen from their first loss, and the team did just that by showing that they are able to respond to disappointments positively. They ended the game with a score of 5-3 Devils.
For this game, head coach Sheldon Keefe was looking for a more secure and on-edge defense, as that is what cost them the game Thursday night. A specific defensive pairing that seemed to fall a little short was Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey, especially Simon Nemec who caused New Jersey to allow 3.31 expected goals per 60 minutes. There should not be panic on this matter though, as it is only three games into the regular season.
The Devils started the first period with an advantage, as they were given two powerplays back-to-back. However, a feeling of familiarity was there as New Jersey could not keep the puck in the offensive zone even with the extra man. Washington would seize this opportunity to get into the Devils’ zone, and only a few minutes later they were on the powerplay. Only ten seconds in John Carlson would rip one in past Jacob Markstrom to get Washington on the board; the goal would be assisted by Pierre-Luc Dubois and Dylan Strome.
The Devils would respond to this almost immediately as Seamus Casey would find his way to the back of the net from Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier, tying the game halfway into regulation. New Jersey would then get the surge that they had hoped for at the start of the game, and once again the Devils would strike only three minutes later with Paul Cotter netting his third of the season from Stefan Noesen and Erik Haula. This gave the Devils the lead to end the first period.
One of the contributors to being able to stay in the offensive zone towards the end of the period was that New Jersey was able to control a majority of the face-offs.
Coming out onto the ice for the second period the Devils would hope to transition the surge they had in the first period to now, but the first minute would not go in their favor as Dylan Strome would tie the game with assists from John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin. New Jersey would not let this small bump in the road discourage them as they would respond accordingly with Tomas Tatar sending a snap shot into the net on assists from Stefan Noesen and Erik Haula, giving the Devils the lead once again.
The Devils would play well and make impactful decisions throughout the second period; one of these decisions gave Cotter another chance, and he would take it, giving the Devils a bigger lead at 4-2. His goal would be assisted once again by Stefan Noesen and Erik Haula. The second period would end with a score of 4-2 Devils.
Cotter has obviously become a huge part of the team in a small amount of time due to his offensive depth he brings to the game.
The Devils would be sent out onto the ice for the third period with high hopes to keep the lead and take home the win. However, Washington would once again make this hard for the Devils as Tom Wilson would close the Devils’ lead to one on an assist from Connor McMichael. The Devils would then play a risky third period. having many close calls to losing their lead, but Jacob Markstrom stayed consistent and kept the puck out of his net until the end of regulation where Dawson Mercer scored an empty netter on assists from Tomas Tatar and Nico Hischier to solidify the win for New Jersey.
The defensive worry that formed before the game had somewhat left as Jonas Siegenthaler played a huge part in tonight’s game. He blocked many high-danger shots from the opposing team and stood up for his teammates when needed. Also, the Casey and Nemec line was able to produce the first goal of the game, which is huge for the two young players. Even with many positives there is still work for Jack Hughes to do in the upcoming games to gain his footing back and show his potential.
