The Devils lost their second game straight when they played against the Golden Knights in Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, March 17th. New Jersey took a 4-1 loss against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Nico Hischier scored the lone goal for the Devils, avoiding being shutout. It was a good win for Vegas after a 4-1 loss against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, March 14th. Jake Allen made a big 34 saves for New Jersey in their 3-1 loss against the Golden Knights.
Devils lineup against the Golden Knights:
Hughes – Hischier – Bratt
Meier – Lazar – Mercer
Palat – Haula – Holtz
MacDermid – Tierney – Nosek
Bahl – Marino
Hughes – DeSimone
Smith – Nemec
Allen
Kahkonen
Golden Knights lineup against the Devils:
Barbashev – Eichel – Marchessault
Stephenson – Roy – Mantha
Dorofeyev – Karlsson – Amadio
Carrier – Howden – Kolesar
Hanifin – Pietrangelo
McNabb – Theodore
Hutton – Martinez
Thompson
Hill
It appeared Dawson Mercer gave New Jersey the 1-0 lead in the first period, however, it was reviewed for a kick and then determined a goal until Vegas successfully challenged it for goaltender interference. The remainder of the first frame stayed scoreless, and both the Devils and Golden Knights headed into the second frame where the game remained scoreless until the third period.
Nico Hischier put the Devils on the board 1-0 only 38 seconds into the final frame for his 22nd goal of the season. After a shot by Jesper Bratt had been cleared off of the goal line by Noah Hanifin, Hischier put a wrister past Logan Thompson from the slot. Tying it 1-1 at 17:03, William Carrier scored from above the left circle, redirecting a wrist shot from Alex Pietrangelo and past Jake Allen. Jack Eichel struck the go-ahead goal for his 21st of the season when he beat Allen with a wrist shot after skating into the high slot. With only 19 seconds remaining, William Karlsson struck the empty net for the 3-1 final.
Nico Hischier on the Devils’ 3-1 loss: “I mean, we always have chances. I think that’s something we can take moving forward and score a couple more goals, win a game as well. I think at the end of the day, it was a solid effort but came down… I think we got a little caught out there. Tough stretch we have right now… the energy was missing at the end, I think.”
Notes:
– Jake Allen has stopped 68 of 70 shots he’s faced as a New Jersey Devil.
– John Marino made his return after missing the two previous games due to sustaining an upper-body injury.
– Even though the Devils lost this game, it was definitely an improvement. In their game on Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes, they trailed early 2-0.
– Noah Hanifin recorded two assists, and Logan Thompson made 20 saves for Vegas.
Hanifin has a total of four assists in five games since being acquired in a trade on March 6th with the Calgary Flames.
– Both Ben Hutton and Ivan Barbashev played in their 500th NHL career game.
