The New Jersey Devils defeated the Nashville Predators 4-2 on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Devils put together a strong effort from beginning to end, finding their scoring touch while also limiting the Predators to just 17 shots on net. With the win, the Devils improved to 37-32-2 while the Predators fell to 34-29-9.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils had the early jump, tallying the first three shots of the contest. However, Nashville began to turn the tide, pinning the Devils in their zone for a few consecutive shifts.
Jonas Siegenthaler fired a shot from the blue line that generated additional chances off the rebound. The Predators countered with a shot fired off the post behind Jacob Markstrom.
Off a rush chance, Jack Hughes fired a slap shot that Jesper Bratt tipped past Justus Annunen at 18:02. Siegenthaler added a secondary assist.
New Jersey outshot the Predators 9-5 in the period.
Period Two
The Devils came out flying with a strong first few shifts, but got caught, forcing Markstrom to make a glove save on a breakaway attempt.
Nashville was tagged with too many men on the ice, sending the Devils to the first power play of the game. They generated some great chances with the man advantage but couldn’t grab the two-goal lead.
The Predators pushed with extended zone time, but the Devils did well to prevent shots from getting to Markstrom.
New Jersey went the other way, and Nico Hischier extended the lead at 9:13, tipping a shot past Annunen. Bratt made the play happen with some nifty skating along the far wall that opened a lane to the net. Simon Nemec had the secondary assist.
Nashville immediately responded after the Devils got caught in a line change, giving up a breakaway goal to Reid Schaefer at 11:09. Fedor Svechkov and Nicolas Hague had the assists.
Nemec had his stick slashed out of his hands with no call, giving Nashville the puck directly in front of Markstrom, and the Predators tied the contest at 13:00. Steven Stamkos got the goal with an assist from Luke Evangelista.
The Devils surged as the period dipped under five minutes to play, but they couldn’t regain their lead.
Hischier took an elbow to the face in the final seconds but was able to skate off and remain in the game.
The Devils outshot the Predators 10-6 in the middle frame.
Period Three
The Devils took an early penalty, giving Nashville a man-advantage. Hischier had a shorthanded chance that was fought off, and the Devils killed the rest of the penalty.
The ice opened up, and the teams exchanged chances, forcing both netminders to be sharp.
The Devils went back to the power play with just over nine minutes left in the contest, but the game remained tied.
New Jersey went right back to the power play when Matthew Wood was called for slashing, and Hischier redirected a shot by Jack Hughes for his second goal of the night at 14:07. Bratt added a secondary assist for his third point of the game.
With 2:15 to play, Nashville pulled their netminder in favor of the extra attacker. The Predators had a few good looks, but the Devils survived, and Timo Meier was able to bury the puck in the empty net to ice the game.
The Devils outshot Nashville 30-17 in the victory.
Takeaways
Putting it Together
New Jersey’s effort against Nashville was one of the strongest collective performances in a long time. The offense, defense, goaltending and special teams all had good showings, culminating in a decisive win for the Devils.
On offense, it’s clear that the team has renewed confidence. They have drastically improved their rush game, converting on their shots and operating quickly and efficiently to get opposing netminders out of position. Additionally, they’re finding those passes and elusive plays in the O-zone that they couldn’t seem to make happen earlier in the season.
The power play converted on one of three chances, scoring the go-ahead tally late in the third. While they didn’t score on the previous two, they did generate good opportunities and put pressure on Nashville’s penalty killers. New Jersey’s penalty killers also did a good job, killing off the Predators’ only power play, which came at a crucial point at the start of the third.
In the defensive end, they’re giving up a few more odd-man chances than before, but the defensemen are more engaged and willing to jump up into plays, giving the Devils an extra boost of offense that they desperately needed.
Ideally, some of the odd-man rushes would be eliminated, but ultimately, the team is built on its offense, and the system needs to reflect that skillset.
In net, Markstrom saved 16 of 18 shots for a .889 SV%. On paper, the percentage isn’t particularly flattering, but he made the important saves that his team needed during their momentary lapses in play.
The types of performances that the Devils have put together in recent games are encouraging as the season winds down. While it might be too late to make the playoffs this season, it is good to see the players coming together and showing what a dangerous team they can be.
Up Next
The Devils conclude their road trip on Saturday night when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes in a Metropolitan Division showdown in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Hurricanes lead the division with a 45-20-6 record and a 6-4-0 record in their past ten contests. Most recently, they lost 5-2 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night in Montreal.
This is the fourth and final meeting between the Devils and Hurricanes this season. New Jersey is yet to defeat Carolina, falling 6-3 on October 9th, 3-1 on January 4th and 4-1 on January 17th.
Puck drop is set for 5:00 p.m. EDT on FDSNSO and MSGSN.
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.