The New Jersey Devils lost 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center on Saturday afternoon. The Devils had another disjointed performance but had positioned themselves to earn at least a point before a late go-ahead goal from the Sharks extended New Jersey’s losing streak to four games. With the loss, the Devils fell to 24-15-3, while the Sharks improved to 13-23-6.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils came out hot with a strong first shift in the offensive zone but were tagged with an early penalty.
The Devils had better chances during the penalty and successfully killed it without allowing a shot.
Former Devil, Tyler Toffoli, had a few good opportunities but was stoned by Jacob Markstrom.
New Jersey’s 4th line of Tomas Tatar, Curtis Lazar, and Nate Bastian had some good looks, but the young netminder, Yaroslav Askarov, was strong for the Sharks.
The Devils took another penalty with a few minutes left in the period, but they killed it.
The Sharks converted seconds after the penalty kill, at 17:40, after the puck took an unfortunate bounce and found Nikolai Kovalenko open in front of Markstrom. William Eklund and Luke Kunin had the assists.
Paul Cotter got caught with a high stick, but no call was made.
The Devils outshot the Sharks 12-11 in the period.
Period Two
The Devils got a power play just minutes into the frame after Macklin Celebrini hit Brenden Dillon with a high stick.
New Jersey converted on the power play at 4:19, with a goal off a redirection from Nico Hischier on his 26th birthday. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt had the assists.
The Devils were tagged with another penalty and killed thanks to Markstrom’s few great saves.
The Devils responded with a rush chance by Jack Hughes that rang off the post.
New Jersey went right back to the penalty kill for a minute and a half, but a too-many-men call on the Sharks negated the last nearly 40 seconds. The Devils couldn’t cash in during four-on-four play or with the man advantage.
Lazar connected with Jonas Siegenthaler for a prime opportunity from the slot, but Askarov made a big save to keep the game tied.
The officials called a trip after Jack Hughes was taken down by Celebrini, but the call was rescinded after the Sharks touched up to stop play.
Sheldon Keefe was irate behind the bench as the final seconds of the period expired.
The Devils outshot the Sharks 10-8 in the middle frame.
Period Three
The Sharks regained their lead just 1:53 into the period after the Devils surrendered a partial two-on-one rush. Will Smith connected with Celebrini, who beat Markstrom for his 13th goal of the season. Collin Graf tallied the secondary assist.
The Devils answered right back at 5:07 with a goal from Cotter, who made a beautiful move to get around a San Jose defender and sniped his shot top corner. Luke Hughes had the lone assist.
The Devils played it safe the rest of the period as they tried to snap their pointless streak.
New Jersey had a great chance at one end, but Cody Ceci gave the Sharks the lead with just over 20 seconds left in the game after New Jersey’s zone exit bounced off the official and right to a San Jose player. Alex Wennberg had the only assist.
The Devils outshot the Sharks 30-24 in the loss.
Takeaways
Defense Creates Offense
On the surface, it’s easy to look at the four-game losing skid and say that the offense’s lack of goal-scoring has been the issue. They have scored a combined six goals in that span, two against the Hurricanes, Ducks and Sharks, and none against the Kings.
However, the Devils’ defense, as a team, has been leaking dangerous chances that they were not allowing before the holiday break.
It starts in their D-zone, where the execution has not been near the level it was before the break. Opponents can set up and cycle the puck, and in turn generate better chances, because the Devils aren’t ending plays like they are capable of doing.
On the first Sharks goal, for example, there was an open opportunity to clear the zone, but a soft pass off the boards allowed San Jose to hold the blue line and get the puck down low, behind New Jersey’s defense, before finding an open player in the slot.
In the neutral zone as well, it’s clear that the team is not quite connected. Their passes aren’t tape to tape and they’re turning the puck over far too often, limiting their own offense and giving other teams easy zone entries and rush opportunities.
Once the Devils are in the O-zone, they’re still creating some high-quality chances, but are lacking “finish” right now. Askarov had to be sharp to hold the Devils to just two goals, but at the same time, the Devils had a few chances that should’ve gone in, including a wide-open net that Ondrej Palat missed in the third.
While some of the offensive struggles are simply the ebbs and flows of a long season, it would not be surprising to see Tom Fitzgerald try and add another middle six forward to bolster scoring depth.
Up Next
The Devils look to snap their losing streak on Monday night when they take on the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena.
The Kraken sit 6th in the Pacific Division with a 17-19-3 record and 37 points. They are 3-5-0 in their last ten games.
This is the second and final meeting between the Devils and Kraken this season. New Jersey won the first contest 3-2 on December 6th.
Puck drop is set for 10:00 p.m. EST on MSGSN, KHN, and KONG.
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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