The Devils won their ninth game in their past 12 when they went to Little Caesars Arena to take on the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, November 29th. Dougie Hamilton, Timo Meier, and Jack Hughes all scored with the man advantage to top the Red Wings. Even though it had been a close game where either team could’ve won, the Devils held on strong throughout the entire game. It was a great win for New Jersey, especially after getting shutout 3-0 by the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday which unfortunately snapped their three-game win streak. The Devils return home on Saturday to host the Washington Capitals, and they will hopefully collect another two points.
New Jersey Devils Lineup:
Palat – Hughes – Bratt
Meier – Hischier – Noesen
Cotter – Haula – Mercer
MacDermid – Dowling – Tatar
Dillon – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
Hughes – Pesce
Markstrom
Allen
Detroit Red Wings Lineup:
Tarasenko – Larkin – Raymond
DeBrincat – Compher – Motte
Veleno – Kasper – Berggren
Rasmussen – Copp – Fischer
Edvinsson – Seider
Chiarot – Petry
Johansson – Holl
Talbot
Husso
Putting the Red Wings ahead 1-0 early into the opening frame – Vladimir Tarasenko scored a power-play goal at 16:19 from the left face-off circle, beating Jacob Markstrom after some passing back and forth before the puck making its way back to him for his second goal of the season. Lucas Raymond extended his goal-scoring streak to five games straight when he extended Detroit’s lead to 2-0 at 10:38 of the first period. He scored on a wraparound after receiving a pass from Tarasenko. With 3:56 left, Dougie Hamilton beat Cam Talbot on the power play from the high slot for the first Devils goal to make it 2-1… the goal was challenged for goaltender interference on Stefan Noesen, however, the call on the ice was upheld after video review, and the Detroit Red Wings received a two-minute penalty for delay of game. Timo Meier tied it to 2-2 not too long after Hamilton’s goal at 2:00 during the ensuing power play when his shot had deflected off Simon Edvinsson’s skate and went over Talbot’s shoulder.
Tyler Motte struck to put the Red Wings back in front 3-2 at 18:34 of the second for this first goal of the season when he tipped in a slap shot from Ben Chiarot past Jacob Markstrom. With 8:50 on the clock, Nico Hischier tied it back up to 3-3 after Timo Meier forced an offensive-zone turnover before scoring from the slot. Stefan Noesen gave New Jersey their first lead of the game, making it 4-3 after the puck was carried up into Detroit’s zone by Luke Hughes, then there had been a few attempts to score, and Noesen kneed the puck over the goal line during a goalmouth scramble.
Jack Hughes scored his eighth goal of the season early into the third frame to give the Devils a 5-3 lead with a power-play goal at 16:55. He took a pass from Dougie Hamilton, and then from just inside the right circle, fired the puck past Cam Talbot. Only 22 seconds after the Hughes goal, Justin Holl scored to cut New Jersey’s lead to 5-4, pulling Detroit within one.
Luke Hughes on the win, the game, playing against the Detroit Red Wings, and being able to bounce back in situations like this: “It’s really important for us to win in different ways, and tonight, we definitely showed that – two big goals for a power play to get us back into it after we didn’t really come out so hot. Marky made some big saves for us in the third,” – “They just play hard. They got some players that are physical, play hard, and they’re a good team. We came out and had a really good game, so it’s really important for us to steal these two points. We’re happy with that… I think for us, it’s just staying even-keeled, not getting too high or too low. You know, you have so many opportunities, like we can play again tomorrow night. So, it’s great to win this game, and then it’s on to the next game. It’s 82 games, a long season, and we just got to keep going.”
Timo Meier the win, the game overall, and the power play: “Through the season, you got to find ways to win games like this today. Special teams, power play, scored a few very important goals, and then at the end, we were able to shut it down, and Marky made some big saves. You know, that’s the kind of game you want to play. You want to be a team that wins those kinds of games. So, we go right back at it tomorrow at home, a huge game for us, and take this one and move on to get the next one,” – “A power play can come in and get the game back for you – we did that. The power play did its job. We came out at a period where we didn’t like the first 10 minutes… we did not play well at all, but we came out of that period with a tie. So, you got to find ways to get back in games, and today, it was the power play, and that’s definitely a positive.”
Notes:
– Jacob Markstrom made a total of 25 saves for New Jersey, and Timo Meier hit 200 NHL career assists.
– Tomas Tatar did not return to play for the remainder of the game after the first period after sustaining a lower-body injury.
– Scoring his 150th career goal, Nico Hischier is the fifth Switzerland-born player to reach that milestone. He joins Nino Niederreiter (232), Timo Meier (198), Roman Josi (188), and Kevin Fiala (184). Hischier has a total of 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 15 career games against the Detroit Red Wings, including four points (three goals, one assist) in two games this season.
– Scoring his 40th goal with the Devils, Dougie Hamilton has become the fifth defenseman in NHL history to score at least that amount with three different teams (also the Carolina Hurricanes and the Calgary Flames). He joins Phil Housley, Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy, and Carol Vadnais.
– Cam Talbot made a total of 24 saves for Detroit in his 500th NHL career game, and Vladimir Tarasenko recorded both a goal and an assist.
– With his goal to extend his goal-scoring streak to five games, Lucas Raymond tied his career-high streak. He had also scored in five straight games from March 12-19, 2024.
