2 weeks Ago By Nick Natale, New Jersey Hockey Now
With panic starting to settle within the fanbase following their loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night, the New Jersey Devils were vying for a critical two points against the New York Islanders. Back-to-backs and home ice haven’t been the Devils’ friend recently, and they continued to be unfriendly, as they lost in overtime 4-3 to their Metro division rivals. READ: Devils Sheldon Keefe Ticked With Officiating, Again Devils Recap The Devils certainly didn’t get off to the start they wanted to, giving up an early goal to the Islanders off a Brock Nelson deflection.
After fighting off a barrage of Islander chances, the Devils and Nico Hischier tied that game back up. Nico continues to carry the Devils on his back, netting his eighth goal of the season. The Devils penalty kill, yet again, causes them trouble, giving up another goal to make it a 2-1 game.
The Devils were probably lucky to come out of the first down just one goal after showing a concerning lack of fight coming off of last night. The second period started much like the first, with the Islanders controlling play and piling up chances, but it was the Devils who struck first. Curtis Lazar beat Sorokin clean on a bang-bang play.
Former Devil Kyle Palmieri got the Islanders back on top off of a drive-by redirection. The Devils had a handful of chances to tie the game up but instead entered the final frame down 3-2. It was low-event hockey for 18 minutes of the third period before Jesper Bratt found the back of the net.
A loose puck squirmed its way over to him before he tucked it home on the backhand to tie it 3-3. Takeaways Response After a heartbreaking loss to Detroit Thursday night, the Devils needed to respond. The product on the ice did not look like a team that was angry or hungry to get after it.
For most of the 60 minutes, the Islanders controlled play. But when it mattered most, the Devils did just enough to hang in there. It wasn’t pretty at times, but the Devils answered the Islanders and forced overtime.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe admitted his team was chasing the game from the get-go but was still proud of his group. “Our guys stayed with it right to the end, and I thought we got better as the game went on,” Keefe stated. Keefe also talked about how the team playing nine games in the last 16 days has been a big challenge.
Despite the lack of practices and the condensed schedule, he has liked what he’s seen, “We look like a team that hasn’t practiced much...
all things considered, to see the team fight on the second half of a back-to-back, those are all encouraging signs.” Nico Hischier The Devils most dominant and consistent player tonight, and all season, had been Nico Hischier . The captain again found the back of the net in the first period to bring his season total to eight.
He continues to drive play and set himself and his teammates up for scoring chances. The top line of Mercer-Hischier-Meier ended the night with 0.689 xGoals, the highest on the team.
Hischier himself finished with a goal, three shots, and one crossbar in overtime in what was another fantastic game. “He’s been outstanding,” said Keefe on his captain Hischier. “I’ve had respect for his game at a distance, but being behind the bench and seeing him every day is tremendous.
I’ve called on him to do a lot of heavy lifting for the team: matchups, face-offs, penalty kill, and to still find offense is outstanding.” This article first appeared on New Jersey Hockey Now and was syndicated with permission..
