The New Jersey Devils lost 5-2 to the San Jose Sharks on Halloween eve at the SAP Center. The Devils trudged through the first 20 minutes, spotting the Sharks three early goals thanks to sloppy mistakes that bred unlucky bounces. New Jersey battled at times, but far too many lapses cost them two points in a contest that should have been a statement bounce-back performance from their loss in Colorado on Tuesday. With the defeat, the Devils dropped to 8-3, having lost consecutive games for the first time this season. The Sharks picked up their first home win and improved to 3-6-2.

Game Recap

Period One

The Devils had the puck in their O-zone, but a pass to the blue line by Dawson Mercer skipped past Jonas Siegenthaler and sprung William Eklund on a breakaway, who gave San Jose a one-goal lead at 00:42. Philipp Kurashev had the lone assist.

New Jersey started to improve as the period progressed. Off a faceoff, Luke Hughes had a strong net drive and fired a quick shot that Alex Nedeljkovic fought off.

The Devils had momentum but were caught with too many men on the ice, sending them to the penalty kill. With thirty seconds left in the kill, Will Smith tripped down Jesper Bratt, evening out the penalties before an abbreviated power play for New Jersey.

The Devils had some zone time, but no dangerous chances on Nedeljkovic.

The Sharks grabbed a second goal at 12:12 after the Devils failed to clear their zone and left the front of the net wide open for Kurashev. Alexander Wennberg had the assist.

New Jersey went back to the penalty box after players came together near center ice, and Siegenthaler was called for roughing. The Sharks had a ton of zone time, but Jake Allen came up huge to bail the Devils out.

San Jose added a third goal on a lucky bounce that was going well wide of the net, but ricocheted in off a jumping Wennberg’s shin pad at 15:47. Mario Ferraro and Timothy Liljegren had the assists.

Dmitry Orlov elbowed Ondrej Palat and sent the Devils to a late power play. Palat remained on the bench but was bleeding from a cut on his nose.

During the power play, the Devils broke through off a nice redirection in the slot by Mercer at 19:00. Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton tallied assists.

The Devils were outshot 15-9 in one of their sloppiest periods of the season so far.

Period Two

New Jersey was much sharper out of the gate, generating zone time and putting a flurry of shots toward Nedeljkovic.

Jack Hughes found Arseny Gritsyuk racing toward the net for a grade-A opportunity, but Nedeljkovic got across to make the save.

The shots were 9-3 in favor of New Jersey at the midway point of the period.

Palat and Jack Hughes combined for two more shots, but they couldn’t pull within a goal. Again, the Devils cycled off a faceoff and got a scoring chance that the sprawling netminder saved. Jack Hughes found Palat in the slot a second time, but he couldn’t get the puck to go.

Off a rare faceoff in front of Allen, Smith fired a shot that rebounded back to him, and he didn’t miss the second, giving the Sharks a 4-1 lead at 16:50. Macklin Celebrini had the lone assist.

The Devils weren’t sharp after the goal, allowing Ryan Reaves a breakaway attempt that Allen fought off. The Sharks had more zone time, and off another faceoff, they surrendered a fifth goal through a screen at 18:30. Former Devil, Tyler Toffoli, got the goal with assists from Orlov and Liljegren.

The shots were even at 13 apiece, but New Jersey was outscored 2-0 in a period that they dominated for the first 15 minutes.

Period Three

The Devils got a power play early in the period and capitalized at 4:19, with a slapshot from the blue line that deflected off Mercer and in, for his second goal of the night. Hamilton and Bratt had the assists.

New Jersey had more shots and more zone time at the halfway point of the final frame, but thanks to their three-goal lead, the Sharks were able to sit back and play more preventative defense.

The Devils pressed and had some chances in close, but Nedeljkovic’s helmet came off, and the play was blown dead.

The Sharks didn’t have a shot on goal with under two minutes left in the game, but the Devils struggled to take advantage of their zone time and puck possession.

Mercer had a wide-open net with thirty seconds left in the contest, but fired it high.

The Devils held San Jose without a shot in the final frame. They also held the Sharks without a shot in the second period in their previous matchup.

New Jersey outshot San Jose 31-28 in the 5-2 loss.

Takeaways

West Coast Ghosts

The ghosts of last season’s road trip through California are coming back to life, as the Devils are two games into their West Coast swing and have had two uninspiring efforts.

The Devils sank themselves early on Thursday night, with weak plays in every area of the ice. They gave up breakaways, allowed the Sharks extended zone time, and hung Jake Allen out to dry with no support in front of his net.

Head Coach Sheldon Keefe didn’t mince words in his postgame media scrum. “I think it was a work ethic and competitive issue for us,” he stated.

He also mentioned the defense specifically, saying, “Some things defensively have been creeping in and have been there not just throughout the start of the season … And that’s individuals.”

Looking back to last season, the Devils had been playing elite defense in the early going, but slipped into looser play, coincidentally around the time of their western road trip.

Again, they have gone out west, and the same lackadaisical play has reappeared. In San Jose alone, they allowed 12 high-danger chances to the 31st-place Sharks while only generating six of their own.

Needless to say, the defensive effort has to be better, and they can’t allow the dip in play to persist and become a season-long problem like it did in 2024-25.

Any Treats?

Despite the loss, Dawson Mercer was a bright spot for New Jersey and has had a resurgence in the early going this season. He scored New Jersey’s only two goals on the night, both on the power play.

Aside from the goal scoring, he was all over the ice, creating plays and putting himself in dangerous areas. He stood out on the forecheck and won puck battles for his team. Defensively, he was also strong, reading plays, intercepting passes and back-checking to help alleviate the pressure that the Devils were under.

Mercer faced a lot of scrutiny after a down season in 2024-25, but with six goals, five assists and a +/- of +6 through the first 11 games of the year, he is again proving to be a valuable asset to this Devils team.

Up Next

The Devils continue their West Coast swing on Saturday night when they take on the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

The Kings sit second in the Pacific Division with a 5-3-4 record. Most recently, they lost to the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout on Thursday night.

Puck drop is set for 9:00 p.m. EDT on MSGSN.

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