The New Jersey Devils defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night in their first game back from the holiday break. It wasn’t the stifling defensive performance that Devils’ fans have gotten accustomed to, but an excellent performance by Jacob Markstrom and an opportunistic offense earned New Jersey a huge two points against a division rival. With the win, the Devils improved to 24-11-3 and are tied for the top spot in the league with 51 points. The Hurricanes fell to 21-13-1 with the loss.
Game Recap
Period One
It was a slow start to the period, with both teams finding their legs following the holiday break. A few shots got through to each netminder, but nothing particularly dangerous.
The Hurricanes broke through first with Eric Robinson’s eighth goal of the season at 10:03. Markstrom made the initial stop, but the puck dropped behind him and into the blue paint where Robinson found it. Jackson Blake and Brent Burns had the assists.
The Devils answered back at 16:12 with a goal from Ondrej Palat. Johnathan Kovacevic fired a shot from the blueline that deflected in off Palat’s stick. Jonas Siegenthaler added a secondary assist.
New Jersey grabbed the lead less than a minute later, at 16:54, with a goal by Nico Hischier on a two-on-one break. Stefan Noesen added a primary assist against his former team with a beautiful saucer pass to connect with Hischier. Luke Hughes also tallied a point with a stretch pass that broke the Devils out of their defensive zone and set up the odd-man rush.
Dougie Hamilton was tagged with a late tripping penalty, but the Devils successfully killed all but 15 seconds that rolled over into the second period.
New Jersey was outshot 10-7 but had the 2-1 lead on the scoreboard after the first frame.
Period Two
The Devils killed the remaining 15 seconds to begin the period, but Burns cashed in at 00:22, to tie the game. Hamilton had just left the penalty box but couldn’t get to Burns in time to alter the shot. Jack Roslovic had the lone assist.
New Jersey jumped right back in front at 4:15 thanks to Luke Hughes’ third goal of the season and his second point of the night off a rebound created by Brett Pesce, another former Hurricane. Jesper Bratt added a secondary assist.
Markstrom made a few big saves to preserve the lead in the following minutes.
The Devils extended their lead at 8:47 after Dawson Mercer buried a net-front rebound for his ninth goal of the season. Jack Hughes and Brenden Dillon had the assists.
Again, Markstrom came up huge just after the goal to hold the lead at two.
The Devils found the back of the net again, but the officials determined that they intended to blow the whistle earlier, and the goal was waved off.
New Jersey responded with a dominant shift that pinned Carolina in their zone for well over a minute.
Pesce and Tyson Jost got into a scrum in front of Markstrom, and the Devils went shorthanded but successfully killed part of the penalty to end the period.
The Devils were outshot 14-10 but, again, outscored the Hurricanes 2-1 in the middle frame.
Period Three
The Devils killed the rest of the penalty to begin the third.
Carolina got some sustained zone time as they tried to pull within a goal, but Markstrom was strong in the net and Jack Hughes made a fabulous defensive read to relieve the pressure.
With the period winding down, the Devils locked things up defensively, content to give Carolina zone time but holding them to the outside.
New Jersey bled the final eight minutes off the clock without a whistle and secured the 4-2 win.
The Devils were outshot 31-23 in the victory.
Takeaways
Different Ways to Win
In the past 10 or so games, the New Jersey Devils have been incredible at suppressing shots, so much so that they set a new NHL record with seven consecutive games allowing 20 or fewer shots. The streak may have ended against the Hurricanes, but the Devils still emerged victorious.
While they allowed over 30 shots, they kept most of the chances to the outside. Carolina is a team that shoots from anywhere on the ice, and the Devils did well to clog lanes and clear rebounds to prevent too many high-quality second and third opportunities. Additionally, with a two-goal lead, New Jersey held Carolina to just seven shots in the third.
At the other end of the ice, the Devils still generated a lot of offense and cashed in at crucial points of the game. After a slower start and conceding the first goal, the Devils answered quickly with two goals to grab a lead. After Carolina tied the game just seconds into the middle frame, the Devils, again, responded just minutes later to regain their lead and eventually stretch it out.
Equally as impressive is that New Jersey didn’t have a single power play in the game. All their goalscoring came at even strength. They were also perfect on the penalty kill, holding the Hurricanes off the board on their two man-advantages.
It was a different look to the game, but the Devils proved that they can still put together convincing wins even without a flawless defensive showing.
“MAR-KY”
Jacob Markstrom continued his phenomenal play, saving 29 of 31 Carolina shots, good for a .935 SV%. He faced more shots than in both of his previous games combined but was up to the task, making some sparkling saves at important junctures of the game.
After each of New Jersey’s second-period goals, the Devils gave up grade-A chances right off the face-off at center ice. Allowing a goal in that situation immediately crushes momentum and transfers it to the opponent, but Markstrom bailed them out with timely saves as chants of “MAR-KY” rained down from the home crowd.
With the victory over Carolina, Markstrom won his sixth consecutive start and improved to 9-0-1 in his last ten games. He has a .933 SV% in that span and allowed just 14 total goals. He also recorded two shutouts in consecutive outings.
Up Next
The Devils look to keep the good times rolling as they kick off their longest road trip of the season on Saturday night, again, against the Carolina Hurricanes.
This is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the rivals. The Devils lead the series 2-1, with 4-2 victories on November 21st and the most recent meeting on Friday night.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST on MSGSN2 and FDSNSO.
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