New Jersey Devils May Have Just Saved Their Season
By Nick Villano
It was one of the best comebacks the New Jersey Devils had in years. After coming back from a three-goal deficit twice, this could be the turning point of the season the team needed.
This season, it’s rare to see a New Jersey Devils win. It’s even more rare to see a comeback Devils win. Before tonight, we’ve never seen an overtime Devils win. What happened on Friday night was nothing short of incredible, and it’s the kind of win the Devils can carry well into the season.
Going into the night, the Vegas Golden Knights were 9-2 in their last 11 games. They’ve been the hottest team in the NHL. Nobody could touch them, as Marc-Andre Fleury leads his team back into the playoff hunt after a rough start.
Then, they faced the Devils. It didn’t start well, as you all know. Cory Schneider had his worst start of the season, and that’s saying something. Things came to a head on the Knights third goal of the night. William Carrier just threw the puck on net. Schneider tried to glove it, but he tipped it. It went off his shoulder, fell towards the ice, hit his pad then went through his five hole and in. It showed just how bad the season has been for Cory.
Head coach John Hynes made the right move taking him out. He just didn’t have it. Keith Kinkaid was back on the ice as soon as the next play stopped.
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This clearly showed the Devils that what they were doing wasn’t good enough. It started as one of the worst performances of the year, which is saying something again, but turned around quite quickly in the second period.
I don’t need to go through every goal. It was glorious. The Devils finally got the breaks. Pucks went in off of Knights players instead of the other way around. In fact, the game-tying goal went in off a Knights player, making it 4-4.
Then, Nico Hischier changed the Devils overtime fortunes. He took a puck around Fleury, stayed with it enough to shove it in the net. That right there ends the Devils losing streak in the extra period. Now, they can build confidence the next time they find themselves in overtime knowing they can win there.
Miles Wood scored the Devils second goal. Obviously, at that time, being 4-2, it didn’t seem like the most important goal, but his reaction to it says a lot. He jumped up on the glass like he won the game. That’s because Wood has been slumping for most of the season, and despite making some really good moves earlier in the game on a breakaway, it didn’t always end in goals. This one did, and everyone could tell how much it meant to him.
We are now 465 words into this article, and we did not mention the Devils did all this without Taylor Hall. Their MVP was a game-time decision, and he wasn’t able to go. Yet, without him, the Devils came back from three goals down twice to win.
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The last time the Devils came back from a three-goal deficit was last November when they beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-5. That one came on the other side of a back to back, and propelled the team to get points in five of the next six games.
The Devils come right back to play Saturday night in Nashville. It’s a huge test, but one when the Devils finally have momentum on their side. This was a special win that hopefully becomes the turning point of this season.