After the New Jersey Devils suffered a gut-wrenching season opening loss, it was imperative that they bounce back quickly and restore the vibes. Well, that’s exactly what they did, picking up a rare road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 5-3 effort. Connor Brown led the way with an impressive two-goal showing.
Related: Devils Score Early and Often in Win Over Lightning
Gritsyuk & Brown Add Key Depth Scoring
Unlike the Carolina game, this one was extremely physical. The Devils were constantly getting involved in scrums, which seemed to spark them to an incredibly dominant first frame:
Timo Meier, Brown and Nico Hischier all found twine as they outshot Tampa Bay 14-2. Brown’s goal in particular was notable, as it was set up by an individual effort and picturesque feed from Arseny Gritsyuk for his first NHL point.
Connor Brown, New Jersey Devils (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images)
Depth scoring was a major issue for them in 2024-25, so seeing that Gritsyuk to Brown connection had to feel especially good for Devils fans. Brown later added another insurance goal in the third, and by doing so, he already passed the combined even strength total (1) from four regular members of the Devils’ bottom-six after Jan. 1 last season. Those players played a total of 1,317 minutes and 57 seconds in that span…it took Brown just 23:16 to outscore them. (via Natural Stat Trick)
Gritsyuk only had the single point but had a multitude of other opportunities to score and just couldn’t convert. He looked very much like he belonged.
Trends Still Need to be Reversed
There was a common trend last season where the Devils would fall flat after gaining a sizable lead. That’s exactly what happened again; the Lightning turned up the pace in the second and the Devils didn’t seem to have much of an answer. Yanni Gourde and Ryan McDonagh each notched a goal to shrink the Lightning deficit to 3-2. Thankfully, they bounced back with goals from Jesper Bratt and Brown, but letting teams creep back in is a trend that can’t return this season.
That wasn’t the only mildly concerning trend carrying over. As a Devil, Jacob Markstrom has oddly struggled with low and medium danger chances whilst excelling with those of the high danger variety. He has still yet to allow a high danger goal this season, but allowed two ‘low danger’ and a ‘medium danger’ tonight. (via MoneyPuck)
He wasn’t tested much but all in all, he stopped 14 of 17 (.824%), bringing his season total to a very underwhelming .837%. He does deserve credit for the finish to the game, though: he made some spectacular saves in the dying seconds in a 6-on-4 situation. But those were primarily high danger attempts, so it shouldn’t be all too surprising.
It’s a strange trend, but even given the quirk, Markstrom was an above-average goaltender last season. He’ll almost certainly bounce back; his numbers are bound to improve as he gets more starts under his belt.
Power Play Struggles
Simply put: Tampa Bay is (and always has been) a dangerous team. Thus, it’s key for a team to capitalize on their power play chances to gain an advantage. The Devils went 0-for-4 on the man advantage, often struggling to get set up at all.
Thankfully, in a refreshing reversal, the even strength offense was good enough to power them through. But this brings the Devils to 0-for-6 in the early going; last season, they were third in the league with a conversion rate of 28.2%.
There is obviously way too much talent for this group to struggle for long, but they don’t look in sync yet.
Return to Action
The Devils will aim to continue the positive momentum on Monday, Oct. 13 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. It will be the final contest of their season opening three-game road stint.
