The New Jersey Devils were shut out 2-0 on Sunday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. While the score looks uninspiring, the Devils played a very strong game at even strength but lost the special teams battle in the third period. More concerning for Devils fans was the late injury to Jack Hughes that knocked him out of the game. As for the standings, the Devils fell to 33-23-6 with the loss, while the Golden Knights improved to 36-18-6.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils were a bit disjointed in the early going, but Jacob Markstrom made some early saves in his first game back from injury, giving his team time to find its rhythm.
As the period progressed, New Jersey gained some zone time and got a few dangerous shots through to Aidin Hill.
Tomas Tatar made a nice play to strip the puck in the neutral zone and got a good shot off the rush but couldn’t grab the early lead.
The Devils turned the tide and controlled the neutral zone, holding the Golden Knights without a shot for more than five minutes.
Vegas had a brief surge as the period expired, but Markstrom made his best save of the game on a point-blank shot, and the Devils went to intermission after a scoreless first.
New Jersey outshot Vegas 8-7 in the first 20 minutes.
Period Two
The period started slowly as neither team could generate many chances. Timo Meier got a good shot off roughly five minutes into the frame but couldn’t convert.
Shots were just 5-2 in favor of the Devils at the halfway point, as both teams played very structured hockey.
The Devils had a strong push, but Jack Hughes’ chance at a nearly empty net was blocked in front. Vegas went the other way, and Markstrom made two nice saves to keep the game scoreless.
Paul Cotter had a point-blank opportunity off the rush, but Hill made the save as the game opened up.
Vegas got some zone time with under five minutes to go, but the Devils did well to protect the house and eliminate second and third opportunities.
The teams exchanged rush chances in the dying seconds, but the horn ended another scoreless period.
The Devils were outshot 9-8 in the frame.
Period Three
New Jersey had a strong first shift that created chaos in front of Hill, but they still couldn’t capitalize on it and take the lead.
Vegas rang a shot off the post on a rush chance, and the Devils took the first penalty of the game that cost them on the scoresheet. Mark Stone redirected a point shot that beat Markstrom at 1:27. Noah Hanifin and Jack Eichel had the assists.
The Devils got very sloppy after conceding the goal, and Vegas nearly capitalized again with a breakaway shot that rang off the crossbar.
New Jersey got caught with too many men, and Vegas extended their lead on another shot from Hanifin that got through traffic and past Markstrom at 9:10. Eichel had the lone assist.
The Devils got a late power play of their own, but it was negated with 30 seconds left after a trip against New Jersey.
Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes had a shorthanded two-on-one break, and Hughes was tripped up from behind by Eichel, unintentionally sending him careening head-first into the end boards. The play was quickly blown dead as Hughes remained down on the ice, surrounded by concerned linemates and Eichel, his recent teammate for the USA at the Four Nations tournament.
Hughes was able to get up and skate off on his own but immediately went down the tunnel in obvious pain.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe wanted a penalty on the play and was instead assessed a game misconduct for unsportsmanlike conduct, leaving the Devils with a two-man disadvantage in the final minutes of play.
New Jersey killed the rest of the penalties, but time ran out for them to find any offense as they were shutout 2-0.
The Devils outshot the Golden Knights 25-24 in the loss.
Takeaways
Despite the result, there was a lot of good to be taken from New Jersey’s performance in Vegas. Defensively, it was leaps and bounds better than the previous meeting between the clubs. The Devils surrendered 16 fewer shots this time around and effectively moved the puck through the neutral zone. While they weren’t rewarded for the effort, they also had extended offensive zone time and got shots off the rush. At even strength, the Devils, at the very least, matched the play of the Golden Knights.
Special teams were the deciding factor in this game. New Jersey’s penalty kill, which has been a major highlight, surrendered goals on Vegas’ first two power play opportunities. In fact, both goals were remarkably similar, coming immediately after a won faceoff for the Golden Knights that sent the puck back to the blue line and allowed for a quick shot from distance and through traffic.
The Devils also came up short on their power play. They only had one opportunity, but they struggled to maintain the zone and eventually took a penalty themselves to negate the final 30+ seconds. The power play was scorching hot to begin the season but has faltered a bit, leaving the team even more starved for offense than it already is.
They scored 2.62 goals below expected in Vegas, and with the injury developments looming, the Devils are in dire need of goalscoring any way that they can get it.
Markstrom’s Return
Jacob Markstrom returned to the Devils’ lineup for the first time since his injury on January 22nd, and it was clear that no rust needed to be knocked off. He posted a .917 SV%, and despite allowing two, he still saved 1.16 goals above expected.
In his absence, Jake Allen and Nico Daws also put up great numbers to give the Devils every opportunity to win games, but ultimately, it won’t matter who is in net if New Jersey doesn’t find more consistent ways to light the lamp.
Injury Update
While the loss stings, the injury to Jack Hughes looms much larger. Hughes did not return to the game, and no update was provided.
“He’s going to have to be evaluated,” stated Keefe. “Obviously, it didn’t look good. We’re going to have to take our time to know the full extent of it.”
Keefe also explained his interaction with the officials that got him ejected.
“It was a similar play that (Jack) got called on earlier in the period. Not only is he injured on the play, but there’s no call. I got kicked off the bench for telling the referee I felt it was 10 times worse than the one previously called on Jack,” he said.
The play by Eichel was clearly accidental but, nonetheless, left the coaching staff questioning the consistency of the calls made throughout the game.
Up Next
The Devils finish off their road trip on Tuesday night when they take on the Dallas Stars.
This is the second and final meeting of the season between the clubs. The Stars took the first contest 4-2 on February 22nd.
The Stars sit second in the Central Division with a 39-19-2 record and a 7-2-1 record in their past ten games. Most recently, they defeated the St. Louis Blues 6-3, despite being outshot 42-21.
Puck drop is set for 8:00 p.m. EST on ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+.
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