The New Jersey Devils went up against the Tampa Bay Lightning and came out victorious again. They took four points from a back-to-back against two of the favorites for the Stanley Cup.
Just three days ago, things looked about as bleak as possible for the New Jersey Devils. Coming off a 6-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, things looked bleak. The Florida Panthers were coming up quick, down just one point with two games at hand. The Devils were still staring down a back-to-back against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Fast forward to tonight, when the Devils took four points from two of the best teams in the league. Based on some of the saves made by Keith Kinkaid, one could say the Devils stole both games.
The Devils played an overtime game in Pittsburgh, drove through the night back to New Jersey, and still beat the best team in the Eastern Conference.
Obviously, it’s surprising that the Devils of all teams is the only one to beat the Lightning three times this season. It just helps with the narrative of a team that plays up to its competition.
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New Jersey got goals from two of the usual suspects. Nico Hischier broke the scoreless tie with his second goal in two nights. A nice cross-ice pass from a returning Mirco Mueller set up a Will Butcher shot. The puck trickled out in front, and Hischier put it in an empty net.
Kyle Palmieri made it two nothing halfway through the second period. He skated a puck in between the circles, and shot it right over the arm of Andrei Vasilevskiy. Once again, Palmieri comes up huge when the Devils need him most.
This win may end up going down as a marquee win if the Devils are able to make the playoffs. What a night for the New Jersey Devils. Kinkaid deserves all the stars for carrying the Devils to this win. On to Carolina.