The New Jersey Devils came out extremely flat against the New York Islanders after honoring Patrik Elias. A huge third period helped the team save face and come out with a win.
Patrik Elias became the fifth player to watch his number raised to the rafters for the New Jersey Devils. His number 26 will live on forever at the top of the Prudential Center. The ceremony was wonderful, but we will have more on that later.
After the ceremony, the Devils took on the New York Islanders in a very important game for both teams. The Devils were looking to solidify themselves in the Metropolitan Division, while the Islanders are trying to keep their playoff hopes alive.
It looked bleak at first. The Devils came out flat, and had no push to get into the offensive zone. They could not get past the blue line, and were forced to dump and chase for the majority of the first 30 minutes. There was no rhythm to the offense, despite seeing the speed of Michael Grabner for the first time in a Devils uniform.
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Then, the Devils got the scoring going when Kyle Palmieri took a slick Taylor Hall pass into the offensive zone, used one of the Sebastian Ahos as a screen, and rocketed a wrister past Jaroslav Halak.
That goal showed the Devils weren’t going away that easily, not on this night.
Five minutes later, the Devils took the lead for good. It seemed like a simple play, where Hall sent the puck up the boards. Sami Vatanen took no time to send the puck towards the net. Palmieri tipped it in front, and it went past Halak for the game-winning goal.
It was a rough watch for the first 40 minutes, but the ending made it worth it. Keith Kinkaid stood on his head in the final two minutes, making two great saves while the Isles pulled their goalie. His performance along with Kyle Palmieri’s made sure the Devils honored Elias with a win.