The New Jersey Devils lost 5-3 to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night in Michigan. The Devils thoroughly outplayed Detroit, but Cam Talbot had a masterful performance in the net to steal a win. With the loss, the Devils fell to 5-4-1, while the Red Wings improved to 4-3-0
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils had the early jump and dominated play in the early going. Just past the halfway mark of the period, New Jersey was awarded a power play and converted at 12:11.
Nico Hischier buried a slot shot off a pass from Jesper Bratt. He wasn’t credited with an assist, but Stefan Noesen’s work along the wall to win the puck created the play.
The Devils killed a Detroit power play but allowed a late goal to Christian Fischer at 18:09 off a rebound. Andrew Copp had the only assist.
New Jersey immediately allowed a second Red Wings goal at 18:34 following a sloppy turnover by Luke Hughes in his first game of the year since his injury. Alex DeBrincat beat Jacob Markstrom with an unassisted tally.
As the clock expired, the Devils were called for too many men on the ice.
New Jersey put together a dominant 18 minutes of hockey, outshooting the Red Wings 15-8 in the frame, but gave away their lead with sloppy plays in the final two minutes.
Period Two
The Devils killed the penalty to begin the period and even generated some offense while shorthanded.
They got their own power play minutes later after Dylan Larkin elbowed Paul Cotter in the face. Cotter was slow to get up and went down the tunnel. He returned later in the period.
New Jersey cashed in on its opportunity with a redirection at the net front by Erik Haula at 4:59. Timo Meier and Luke Hughes added assists.
The Red Wings created an odd-man rush, but it was defended perfectly by Brett Pesce, making his Devils debut.
The Devils carried play through the rest of the period but couldn’t retake the lead.
New Jersey outshot Detroit 14-6 in the frame.
Period Three
For the second game in a row, the Devils were tagged with a bad call in the third period after Brendan Dillon took a dangerous hit in the corner and was assessed a roughing minor in addition to a five-minute major for fighting Fischer.
Larkin converted at 9:46 with a tipped shot from Patrick Kane and Lucas Raymond. That was Detroit’s first shot of the period.
After Hischier was hauled down on a breakaway, a scrum ensued that landed numerous players on each team in the box. The Devils came away with a power play.
With the man advantage, Hischier beat Talbot at 11:41 for his second goal of the game to tie things up. Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton had the assists.
The Devils took another late penalty and surrendered a goal to Kane at 16:28 on a shot that Markstrom likely wanted back. Raymond and DeBrincat tallied the assists.
Michael Rasmussen hit the empty net at 19:48 to ice the game for Detroit.
New Jersey outshot Detroit 40-20 in the loss.
Takeaways
“Disappointing” is the word to describe this loss for New Jersey. The Devils put together a tremendous effort to rebound from the Tampa Bay game, but goaltending, officiating and a 25-second breakdown cost New Jersey two points.
Goaltending
The Devils got “out-goalied” against Detroit. Despite allowing three goals, Talbot was the best player on the ice for the Red Wings and held them in the game from start to finish. He saved 2.15 goals above expected on 40 shots by New Jersey. Additionally, he faced 18 slot shots and 15 high-danger scoring chances compared with just eight slot shots and four high-danger chances generated by Detroit.
At the other end of the ice, Markstrom had an okay performance for New Jersey. He had a few notable saves that prevented high-danger goals, but he also allowed some softies, resulting in a -2.13 GSAx. On a night when the Devils held Detroit to only 20 shots and primarily low-danger chances, even one more timely save could have been the difference.
Momentum
The Devils have established a trend of allowing multiple goals in short spans to put themselves behind. It happened against Washington, Tampa Bay, and again against Detroit.
New Jersey dominated the first period, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead and completely controlling play. However, two goals in 25 seconds put them behind, and they couldn’t retake the lead despite many opportunities.
Goals against are inevitable, but the Devils need to find ways to stop the momentum and keep one goal from spiraling into two, three or five in quick succession. Simpler and safer plays on shifts that follow goals are necessary fixes to stabilize their game. They don’t need to make up lost ground immediately, but they need to limit the damage and keep themselves in the game.
Officiating
It’s never a good sign when officiating becomes a negative headline in a game, but that was, unfortunately, the case in Detroit. Sheldon Keefe was, again, livid behind the Devils’ bench, particularly following the dangerous hit from behind on Dillon and the ensuing fight. Dillon was assessed a five-minute fighting major and a minor for roughing, while Fischer was only given five for fighting.
In his postgame press conference, Keefe stated, “I think there should be a penalty on the initial hit. I think it’s quite clear. Another one I think when the refs get a chance to look back at, they’re going to see that differently.”
The Red Wings scored on their ensuing power play.
Additionally, later in the game, Johnathan Kovacevic was given a five-minute major for fighting with Ben Chiarot despite not dropping his gloves or throwing a punch, much to the confusion of the Devils’ bench and coaches.
It doesn’t guarantee a different result for the Devils, but it also doesn’t negate that they faced some unjust hurdles.
Positives
Overall, there was a lot to like about how the Devils played. They dominated offensive zone time, doubled Detroit’s shot count, and outhit them by a wide margin. If the Devils continue to play that way, they will win many games.
The captain, Hischier, was a force at both ends of the ice, tallying two goals and eight shots while playing excellent defense and taking the bulk of the faceoffs. He is up to seven goals and three assists in ten games played this season.
Additionally, Timo Meier is off to a hot start. Although he has sometimes struggled early in the season throughout his career, he is now up to ten points in as many games, including four goals and six assists.
Devils fans also saw Brett Pesce in his first game with New Jersey since signing a six-year deal in free agency. He made an immediate impact, preventing the Red Wings from getting a shot off on a 3-on-1 break. Perhaps even more importantly, he provides a veteran example for young defensemen like Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec to learn from.
Up Next
The Devils are right back in action on Friday night at The Rock, where they take on the division rival New York Islanders.
The Islanders sit seventh in the Metropolitan division with a 2-2-2 record. Most recently, they lost 1-0 to the Red Wings in a game that looked very similar to the Devils’ loss in terms of shot differential and carrying play.
The Islanders have struggled to score so far this season, having been shut out three times in their first six games. Furthermore, the team announced that it will be without Anthony Duclair for 4-6 weeks due to a lower-body injury.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. in New Jersey.
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