The New Jersey Devils lost 4-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Poor execution in the first period, particularly on special teams, took the wind out of their sails and put them in an early hole that proved too much to overcome despite much better second and third frames. With the loss, New Jersey fell to 28-18-6, while the Flyers improved to 23-22-6.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils had the edge in play and got an early power play after Ondrej Palat was caught with a high stick. Rasmus Ristolainen was assessed a double minor for the infraction.
New Jersey did not have a good power play. Jake Allen came up big to bail his team out after sloppy plays gifted Philadelphia some prime looks.
The Devils got a couple of shots on net late in the power play but couldn’t cash in.
New Jersey was tagged with a tripping penalty, and the Flyers capitalized after a lost face-off. Bobby Brink fired a shot from the blue line that beat Allen through a screen at 11:04. Ristolainen and Travis Konecny had the assists.
The Devils surrendered another goal seconds later, after Timo Meier dropped his stick before receiving a pass, springing the Flyers on a rush. Joel Farabee got the goal with an assist from Scott Laughton.
New Jersey was outshot 9-8 in the period.
Period Two
The Devils weren’t sharp to start the middle frame, and Philadelphia added a third goal. A shot by Cam York deflected off the stick of Garnet Hathaway and beat Allen at 2:49. Ristolainen added his second assist of the night.
Nate Bastian was caught with a late hit to the head by Nick Seeler and went down the tunnel. Dougie Hamilton stepped up to defend Bastian, and Seeler dropped his gloves but was only assessed a roughing minor, so the teams skated four aside.
Bastian did not return to the game.
The Devils heavily tilted the ice during the four-on-four but couldn’t beat Sam Ersson, a theme that has been recurring for New Jersey this season.
The Flyers nearly had a breakaway, but Luke Hughes was called for a trip, a good penalty to take.
Jack Hughes and Johnathan Kovacevic had a shorthanded two-on-one break that was saved by Ersson.
Jack Hughes had another odd-man rush seconds later but, again, couldn’t hit the back of the net.
The Devils were heavily outshooting Philadelphia 13-6 with five minutes left in the frame.
The Flyers got their first real surge of the period, but Allen made some good saves to hold his team in the game.
Off a faceoff, the Devils made a few quick passes, and Hamilton cashed in with a shot that rang off the post and bounced off a few Flyers before hitting the back of the net at 18:47. It was his 150th career goal. Since the puck went in off a Flyer, Hamilton’s goal was unassisted.
The Devils outshot the Flyers 15-11 in the frame.
Period Three
New Jersey had the early jump as they pushed for offense. Jack Hughes had another great opportunity but couldn’t pull his team within one.
Meier got caught with a knee-on-knee hit but was able to continue.
Ersson shot the puck out of play with just over 12 minutes left in the period, sending New Jersey to a power play. They had two good looks but didn’t add a second goal.
Needing two goals to tie, the Devils pulled Allen with around four minutes left in the game.
With 1:22 left on the clock, Meier rifled a shot from the top of the circle to pull New Jersey within one. Jesper Bratt had the primary assist, and Jack Hughes added the secondary, with a great play from his back to keep the puck in the zone.
The Devils pulled Allen again and had another few looks, but the Flyers eventually hit the empty net with a few seconds left to ice the game.
New Jersey outshot Philadelphia 33-26 in the game.
Takeaways
Faceoff Trouble
Nico Hischier is one of the most consistent faceoff men in the NHL and carries a heavy workload for the Devils. Erik Haula, is another top face-off man for the team who takes a lot of important draws.
Without them, New Jersey struggled at the dot. In the first period, they went 6-16 on faceoffs and lost some crucial draws, which deflated their power play and directly led to the first Flyers goal.
The Devils were 19-31 on faceoffs in the full 60 minutes.
An additional side effect of the lost faceoffs is less puck possession in the O-zone. The Flyers were able to win the puck back and clear the zone or, at the very least, pin it along the boards, forcing the Devils to win a battle before setting up.
That was another area where the Devils desperately missed their captain. Hischier leads the NHL with the most 50/50 puck battles won, and his absence was noticeable in Philadelphia.
No Finish
The Devils have struggled to put the puck in the net for a while now. They generate a lot of good chances, but their team shooting percentage has drastically fallen.
The past two games against the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, where the Devils tallied five and four goals, respectively, were refreshing performances from a team that had previously gone 11 consecutive games without scoring more than three goals in a game.
The recent goalscoring struggles didn’t come out of the blue. There have been too many occasions this season where the Devils have been stifled by a team well below them in the standings or “goalied” by a netminder with subpar numbers.
New Jersey needs some consistent goalscoring, and it would not be surprising to see Tom Fitzgerald add another forward or two as the trade deadline nears. Ideally, adding a middle-six scorer would fix a lot of New Jersey’s problems. Inserting another goal-scoring threat who can play in the top six or succeed in a depth role offers some needed flexibility and creates a more evenly balanced lineup.
Up Next
The Devils look to get back in the win column on Wednesday night against the Flyers, this time in New Jersey.
The Devils will try to grab their first win against Philadelphia this season. Hopefully, New Jersey can build off the momentum created in the second half of the game on Tuesday and convert it into a 60-minute effort on Wednesday night.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST on TNT, TruTV, and MAX.
ITR 27: Trade Season Begins – Inside The Rink
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