The New Jersey Devils lost 3-0 to the Calgary Flames on Friday night at the Saddledome. Jacob Markstrom returned to Calgary for the first time since his trade to New Jersey and had a great showing, but the Devils’ offense couldn’t find a way to beat Dan Vladar at the other end of the ice. With the loss, the Devils fell to 7-5-2, while the Flames improved to 6-4-1.
Game Recap
Period One
The Flames had the early jump in play with seven shots in the first ten minutes. Jacob Markstrom made a few good saves, and the Devils’ defense prevented many high-danger chances.
By the end of the period, New Jersey found its game, successfully killing a penalty and generating some offensive pressure, but the score remained 0-0 after one.
The Devils were outshot 12-5 in the period.
Period Two
It was a choppy first half of the middle frame, with both teams clogging the neutral zone and preventing sustained pressure. Jack Hughes had two breakaway attempts but couldn’t beat Vladar in net.
New Jersey killed two more Calgary power play attempts, and Markstrom remained strong between the pipes.
The Flames outshot New Jersey 11-9 in the second.
Period Three
The Flames had another power play early in the period that New Jersey killed to remain perfect while playing a man down.
The Devils got their own power play immediately after but couldn’t grab the lead.
Calgary got the first goal of the game at 14:26 with a puck that deflected twice off former Devil, Blake Coleman, and beat Markstrom. Kevin Bahl, another former Devil, and Rasmus Andersson had the assists.
Twenty-eight seconds later, the Devils surrendered a second goal off a two-on-one break. Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Mantha connected on a nice passing sequence that Huberdeau finished off to ice the game. Vladar added a secondary assist.
With the goalie pulled, Coleman hit the empty net at 16:45 for more insurance. It was unassisted.
New Jersey was outshot 32-22 in the loss.
Takeaways
It was a sluggish game from the start for New Jersey. Their passes weren’t clean and offensively, it was clear that they weren’t clicking like usual.
Head Coach Sheldon Keefe said, “We didn’t have it today. It was very evident. There wasn’t one guy that was skating like they normally do.”
Nonetheless, New Jersey’s defense and goaltending had a strong performance that kept them in the game. It took a funky double bounce for a shot to finally beat Markstrom with only a few minutes of play remaining.
Unfortunately for the Devils, the offense couldn’t get anything going to provide goal support.
Penalty Kill
The penalty kill was a bright spot for New Jersey. It successfully killed all four Flames power play attempts and even generated a few offensive opportunities. Both units did well to keep Calgary’s pressure to the outside, block shots, and clear any rebounds left by Markstrom.
Going back to the previous game against the Vancouver Canucks, the penalty kill is a perfect eight-for-eight. It is operating at 82.9% on the season.
Injuries
Nathan Bastian suffered a jaw injury late in the first period after fighting Ryan Lomberg, who laid a dangerous hit on Paul Cotter. He did not return to the game.
There was no further update on his injury post-game.
Additionally, Curtis Lazar underwent a successful surgical procedure on his left knee on October 31st. He suffered the injury on Sunday, October 27th, against the Anaheim Ducks.
He is out indefinitely.
Up Next
The Devils finish off their western Canadian road trip on Monday, November 4th, when they take on the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.
The Oilers sit 5th in the Pacific Division with a 5-5-1 record. Edmonton plays Calgary on Sunday night, meaning New Jersey will face them in the second half of a back-to-back.
Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. EST on NHLN and MSGSN.
ITR 35: Round One – Inside The Rink
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