On Thursday, Feb. 7, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Vegas Golden Knights. This was the Devils’ last home game at the Prudential Center before their two-week Four Nations break. The New Jersey Devils fell short and lost 3-1 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
For the New Jersey Devils, Goalie Jake Allen began the night making a change from playing Nico Daws. Tonight, the Knights’ goalie, Adin Hill, made 16 saves. Winning this game was crucial as both teams needed those two points to bump themselves up. The Devils fell short, while the Knights broke a four-game skid by defeating the Devils.
During the first period, the Devils had five shots on goal, which happened to be significantly lower than usual. Jack Hughes withstood a four-minute double-minor for high-sticking against Victor Olofsson at 7:01. The Devils needed to dig deep for a successful offensive play. Still, they struggled as the first period went completely scoreless on both teams’ behalf.
As the second period began, things started to become more intense as neither team had scored a point. That was until, Nicolas Roy grabbed his seventh goal of the season and put the Knights on the board 1-0. Not long after, Shea Theodore found the back of the Devils net and scored his seventh goal of the season as well. The Devils had a no-man advantage here as they struggled with keeping the puck in the offensive zone. The Devils only recorded four shots on goal in the second, while the Knights snagged 17. The Devils needed to dig deep as they entered the third period down 2-0, searching for a way to climb back into the game. The Devils accumulated more penalty minutes than the total shots on goal from the first and second periods combined.
The third and final period began, and energy was still blazing through the Prudential Center as fans hoped the team could tie up the 2-0 score. Although, Jack Eichel said no and scored right through the legs of Jake Allen, extending the team’s lead to 3-0. The Devils had an incredible 100% power play percentage tonight, while the Knights failed to score on any of their five power plays. The Devils’ only power-play goal came at 15:43, when Ondrej Palat snapped a shot into the back of the net, putting the Devils on the scoreboard, and making the game 3-1. It was a hard-fought game, with both teams having similar statistics leading up to the matchup. Unfortunately, the Devils struggled to capitalize on their chances, but they will have an opportunity to bounce back this Saturday.
The New Jersey Devils will face the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET as their final game before their two-week break.
