The New Jersey Devils defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night at the Prudential Center. The Devils had their best, most complete game in a long time, limiting chances, especially on the penalty kill, and showing off a much-improved forecheck. With the win, the Devils improved to 26-15-4, while the Lightning now sit at 22-15-3.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils looked good out of the gate, controlling the puck and generating a few dangerous chances without giving up much. Andrei Vasilevskiy was sharp, stopping some grade-A opportunities from the slot.
The Devils were rewarded for their play with a goal at 8:10 to give New Jersey the early lead. Dougie Hamilton fired a shot from the blue line that Ondrej Palat redirected for his 10th goal of the season. Jesper Bratt added a secondary assist.
Tampa Bay answered with a few strong shifts and tied the game at 9:57, off a face-off. Victor Hedman’s shot from a distance redirected off Johnathan Kovacevic and beat Jacob Markstrom up high. Nick Paul had the lone assist.
With the period winding down, Kovacevic made a great play at the blue line to send Jack Hughes and Bratt on a two-on-one break, that was narrowly shot wide.
Timo Meier and Nico Hischier had another odd-man rush opportunity that Vasilevskiy saved. The Devils kept pressing, and Jack Hughes sprung Bratt on a clear-cut breakaway chance that rang off the post.
New Jersey outshot Tampa Bay 14-9 in the period.
Period Two
Again, the Devils had the early jump in the second, controlling the puck and forcing the Lightning to play defense. New Jersey had a great extended shift in Tampa Bay’s zone, and Vasilevskiy made some fabulous saves to keep the game tied.
Nate Bastian was called for a hook near the halfway point of the period, but the Devils killed the penalty. Jack Hughes nearly got a shorthanded breakaway attempt but was tripped down without a call.
Emil Lilleberg was called for a hook seconds later, sending the Devils to the power play, but they couldn’t convert.
New Jersey still had the edge in play and cashed in at 15:16 with a great individual effort by Jack Hughes, who intercepted a pass and fired his shot past Vasilevskiy off a deflection. The goal was unassisted.
The Devils were called for a high stick with just five seconds left in the frame but went into the intermission with a 2-1 lead.
New Jersey was outshot 8-6 in the period.
Period Three
The Devils killed the rest of the penalty without allowing a shot on net.
New Jersey went right back to the penalty kill but held their lead with the help of a sparkling save by Markstrom, who was saluted by chants of “MAR-KY” from the home crowd.
The Lightning surged after their two power plays and eventually cashed in at 8:05 after the puck ricochetted off the official and sprung Nikita Kucherov on a breakaway. Brandon Hagel and Ryan McDonagh had the assists.
The Devils found their footing as the period progressed but couldn’t regain the lead, resulting in overtime for the second consecutive contest.
Overtime
The Devils had most of the possession in overtime, and eventually, Jack Hughes was tripped down, giving New Jersey a four-on-three power play opportunity.
The Devils cashed in on their power play at 3:19 with a goal from the slot by Stefan Noesen, who tallied his first career overtime game-winning goal. Jack Hughes and Bratt tallied the assists.
New Jersey had all five shots in overtime and outshot Tampa Bay 26-25 in the complete game.
Takeaways
Home Sweet Home
After a tough two-week road trip, the Devils finally returned to the Rock and continued their strong play on home ice. The Devils completely turned the tables on their early-season home performances, which left much to be desired. The win against the Lightning marked New Jersey’s sixth consecutive home victory.
The Devils have put up impressive numbers during this six-game home winning streak. They are averaging 3.7 goals per game while allowing just 1.0 goals per game. Additionally, their penalty kill has gone a perfect 15 for 15.
Against the Lightning, there was a noticeable improvement to New Jersey’s forecheck, which was a necessity against a heavier team. Especially in the first and second periods, the Devils went to work along the boards and won their battles, which gave them more time with the puck on their sticks and, in turn, allowed them to drive play. At the same time, New Jersey also outhit the Lightning 27-14, a good indication that the Devils were on their game.
The third period was a different story, with New Jersey getting into some penalty trouble and consequently being outshot 9-1, but for the second consecutive game, they were able to tighten up to force overtime and secure at least one point.
Special Teams Come Through
The Devils won the special teams battle against the Lightning, which was the deciding factor in earning two points. Tampa Bay has a top-five-ranked power-play unit, primarily thanks to Brayden Point, who has a league-leading 12 power-play goals this season. Nonetheless, New Jersey’s penalty kill was a perfect three for three, including a huge back-to-back kill early in the third period.
While head coach Sheldon Keefe would like to see some better discipline at that juncture of the game, the penalty kill came up huge and bailed the Devils out.
New Jersey’s power play also factored in, scoring the game-winner in overtime. Keefe and Jeremy Colliton made a bold move, sending out four forwards and no defenseman, which ultimately worked perfectly, as Noesen lit the lamp to send the crowd home happy.
The coaching staff recognized that the Lightning pressured high in the zone, and an excellent net-front forward like Noesen was able to get behind the defense and position himself to reach any puck that got through to the lower slot area.
It was a high-risk, high-reward type move, but it couldn’t have gone better for the Devils, who needed a strong performance and two points.
Up Next
The Devils look to keep rolling on home ice when they take on the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at the Rock.
The Panthers sit second in the Atlantic Division with a 25-15-3 record and are 5-4-1 in their last ten contests. Florida faces off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night, meaning the Devils catch them on the second half of a back-to-back.
This is the third and final meeting of the season between the Devils and Panthers. New Jersey will look to sweep the season series, having secured a 4-1 victory on November 12th and a 6-2 victory on November 14th.
Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN+ and Hulu.
ITR 43: It's Winning Time – Inside The Rink
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