The New Jersey Devils have lots of young prospects to be excited about. One lesser-known player made a major impact on the final game.
The New Jersey Devils had their final game in the 2019 Prospects Challenge against the Boston Bruins. They had lost the first two games of the tournament against the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, so they were in real danger of being swept in the tournament. That would have been slightly disappointing based on some of the talents the Devils were able to ice.
With guys like Jack Hughes, Ty Smith, and Jesper Boqvsit on the squad, it is easy to crown the Devils but all three teams played them well. That also goes for the Bruins who had a 2-1 lead until Ludvig Larsson tied the game with eight seconds left in regulation. It was a clutch goal and one that gave the Devils all the momentum going into overtime.
He then scored the game-winning goal for the Devils in overtime to give them a 3-2 victory over the Bruins. It was a strong, clutch victory for the team and one they desperately wanted to have. They had many opportunities to score throughout the third period and get the game tied but they finally got it done. The tying goal was assisted by Michael McLeod and Nicholas Canade while the overtime winner was scored as unassisted.
Ludvig Larsson is a 23-year-old Swedish kid who played college hockey for Penn State University. After his season there ended last year, he got in seven games for the Binghamton Devils where he had one goal and one assist. He was told that after rookie camp he wouldn’t be invited to the main camp but after his performance today he was then told he was. It was an important game for him and one that saw him shine at the perfect time. These tournaments are perfect for guys like this to make a name for themselves and that is exactly what happened for Larsson.