The New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Islanders 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night on Long Island. New Jersey mounted a late rally, scoring twice in the final five minutes before sealing the victory in overtime and evening the season series with New York. With the win, the Devils improved to 10-5-2 and won their third consecutive contest while the Islanders dropped to 6-6-3.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils had the early jump and pinned the Islanders in their zone, putting numerous shots on Ilya Sorokin in net. Midway through the period, they got a power play opportunity but couldn’t convert.
Against the flow of play, the Islanders got on the board first with a goal from Simon Holmstrom at 13:09. New Jersey was caught out of position, allowing Kyle MacLean to find Holmstron alone in front of Jacob Markstrom.
The Devils kept the pressure on but couldn’t get anything past Sorokin.
New Jersey led the shot count 10-5 through the first 20 minutes.
Period Two
The Devils got another power play opportunity early in the second and Jack Hughes tied the game at 5:57 with a shot that beat Sorokin clean through a screen. Dougie Hamilton and Jesper Bratt tallied the assists.
New Jersey stayed on the front foot with some great opportunities, including a breakaway attempt by Jack Hughes that forced a highlight reel save from Sorokin.
The Devils outshot the Islanders 10-6 in the middle frame.
Period Three
The Islanders regained their lead about halfway through the period after Dennis Cholowski got behind the Devils’ defense and scored on a drive to the net, a play reminiscent of the first goal of the game. Holmstrom and Pierre Engvall had the assists.
Minutes later, Brock Nelson added another goal on a partial breakaway at 12:26. Kyle Palmieri and Maxim Tsyplakov added assists.
The Devils quickly answered at 15:33 thanks to a strong feed to the net front by Paul Cotter that Dawson Mercer buried high over Sorokin. Jonas Siegenthaler tallied a secondary assist.
In the final minutes, the Devils pulled Markstrom for the extra attacker and converted to tie the game at three. Stefan Noesen banked the puck in off an Islander at 19:10 with assists from Jack Hughes and Hamilton.
The Devils outshot the Islanders 32-21 in regulation.
Overtime
Three-on-three overtime was action-packed from the start, with dangerous chances from both teams.
New Jersey completed the comeback with a breakaway goal off the stick of Jack Hughes at 2:35, for his second of the night. Hamilton notched the lone assist, his third point of the game.
The Devils outshot the Islanders 33-22 in the victory.
Takeaways
National Hughes League
The Hughes brothers have emerged as stars in the NHL, and the Devils are lucky to have two of them. Jack Hughes continued his remarkable play with a second consecutive three-point night, including a primary assist on the game-tying goal and the winning goal in overtime. His defensive impact was also prominent as he tallied three takeaways against the Islanders, which was tied for most on the team.
On the back end, Luke Hughes’ defensive game improved dramatically from last season and even from his first few games of the year when he returned from offseason surgery. He hasn’t forced plays to try and create offense and has made smart decisions with the puck in the Devils’ defensive zone. Against the Islanders, there were numerous circumstances when he made a play with his stick or positioned his body to disrupt potentially dangerous opportunities from connecting.
Resilience
The Devils came from behind twice to grab a victory over New York. It was highlighted by a two-goal rally with under five minutes remaining in play to tie and send the game to overtime.
On the one hand, they allowed two goals in quick succession to put themselves in a hole late in the game. Giving up multiple goals in a short period has been a recurring struggle for the Devils this season and has ultimately cost them points on a few occasions earlier in the season.
On the other hand, they finally overcame the deficit and grabbed their first overtime victory of the season. Obviously, there is work to be done to eliminate the need for a late, multi-goal comeback, but it is a step in the right direction that they stuck to their game and were rewarded for an overall strong performance.
Up Next
The Devils are right back in action on Sunday night when they take on the San Jose Sharks at the Prudential Center in Newark.
The Sharks have a 4-9-2 record and sit last in the Pacific division, but they have been playing better, with all four wins coming in their past six contests.
San Jose is also filled with former Devils returning to The Rock, including Fabian Zetterlund, Tyler Toffoli, Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. on MSGSN and NBCSCA.
