The New Jersey Devils were shut out 4-0 by the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night in Winnipeg. For the most part, the Devils actually played a good defensive game, holding the Jets to just 19 shots, but a few key mistakes and a failure to capitalize on opportunities cost them. With the loss, the Devils fell to 38-29-7, while the Jets improved to 50-19-4.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils had a strong first shift, but the Jets struck first, just 58 seconds in, with a backhanded shot from the slot by Alex Iafallo after the Devils had blown defensive coverage. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele had the assists.
Just under a minute later, Winnipeg scored again, courtesy of David Gustafsson, who scored his second goal of the season after a failed zone exit by New Jersey. Morgan Barron and Brandon Tanev tallied assists.
The Devils steadied the ship a bit as the period neared the halfway point and got a power play opportunity after Vladislav Namestnikov ran over Jake Allen in net. With Luke Hughes out after sustaining a lower-body injury, New Jersey went with a five-forward unit, but they could not convert.
The Devils scored right off a face-off, but it was immediately called off for goaltender interference. Sheldon Keefe debated a challenge but ultimately decided against it.
The Jets surged as the period wound down, but the Devils hung on to keep the deficit to just two.
The Devils were outshot 9-8 in the period.
Period Two
New Jersey had a few early looks but couldn’t get anything through to Connor Hellebuyck.
The Devils hadn’t registered a shot at the halfway point of the period but had five consecutive shot attempts blocked by the Jets.
The Devils got a power play after Nico Hischier was tripped, and Timo Meier rang a shot off the post, but they couldn’t light the lamp despite tallying four shots and spending nearly two full minutes in the zone.
New Jersey immediately took a penalty, and Winnipeg scored at 15:45 on just their third shot of the period. Iafallo tallied his second goal of the night from Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey.
Dawson Mercer got caught with a late hit by Dylan DeMelo that drove his own stick into his face. Mercer left the ice bleeding. The play was reviewed for a penalty, but nothing was assessed.
The Jets got another goal with around 40 seconds left in the period after a shot sent wide bounced off the end boards and into the blue paint behind Allen. Scheifele was credited for the goal with an assist from Kyle Connor.
The Devils were outshot 6-5 in the frame.
Period Three
The Jets had a strong shift early in the frame, but Allen kept a few grade-A chances out of his net. Hischier responded with a great look from in close that Hellebuyck saved.
Mercer returned to the ice with 14 minutes left in the game.
Brett Pesce put a shot on net from distance that gave Hellebuyck a hard time, but nonetheless, the Devils couldn’t get on the board.
Paul Cotter made a good defensive play on the backcheck to eliminate what would’ve been a wide-open breakaway opportunity for the Jets.
Ondrej Palat made a hard drive to the net and drew another penalty, giving the Devils a man advantage with just under five minutes left to play. They couldn’t get anything going offensively and the power play expired.
The Jets got a two-on-one opportunity shortly after, but Allen made a nice save to keep the score more respectable.
The Devils outshot the Jets 24-19 in the game.
Takeaways
House of Horrors
Winnipeg has not been kind to the Devils in recent seasons. New Jersey is just 2-8-0 against the Jets in Winnipeg since the 2014-15 season. Their home record against the Jets is 3-4-3 in that span.
Friday night proved no better for the Devils. They sunk themselves early, with sloppy mistakes handing the Jets two goals less than two minutes into the game, and it was a tall task from there.
All things considered, the Devils did well to limit shots on net, but the chances that they allowed were layups that can’t happen against the team with the best record in the league. To boot, shot suppression doesn’t mean anything if the Devils can’t score, and they had a very hard time in the offensive zone. Passes weren’t crisp, and they didn’t have many dangerous shots that made it through to Hellebuyck, who had a relatively easy night.
Special teams were also problematic for the Devils. They drew three penalties but couldn’t cash in on any of the man-advantages. At the other end of the ice, they took just one penalty but allowed a goal just 30 seconds into the kill.
Ultimately, the Jets won because they were opportunistic, and the Devils were not, an issue that has been recurring for months now. The Devils must find a way to manufacture offense even when they don’t have their A-game if they want to secure their spot in the postseason.
Up Next
The Devils are right back in action Saturday evening when they kick off a home-and-home series with the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.
The Wild sit fourth in the Central Division and currently hold the first wildcard position in the Western Conference with a 41-27-5 record. They are 5-4-1 in their past ten contests. Most recently, they defeated the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Thursday night.
Like the Devils, the Wild have had their fair share of injury problems this season. Notably, they will be without forwards Kirill Kaprisov and Joel Eriksson Ek for both games against New Jersey.
Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. EST on MSGSN, FDSNNO and FDSNWIX.
ITR 32: The Final Countdown – Inside The Rink
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