Pucks and Pitchforks
Fansided

New Jersey Devils Fall To Washington In Overtime

By David Holliday

Mar 9, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New Jersey Devils left wing Janne Kuokkanen (59) celebrates with Devils center Travis Zajac (19) after coring a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New Jersey Devils left wing Janne Kuokkanen (59) celebrates with Devils center Travis Zajac (19) after coring a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The New Jersey Devils put up a bad forty minutes and a good twenty minutes en route to a 5-4 overtime loss against a strong Washington Capitals team. The game was close on the stat sheet, but the Devils really were not all that competitive as a whole for the first two periods. They need to start putting together consistent play for a full game if there is a small chance of making some push towards a respectable season.

The Good

Travis Zajac, who has been pretty consistently quiet, slow and looking near done as an NHLer this season, put up 3 assists tonight. He had more assists on Tuesday night than he’s had the entire season prior to this. His faceoffs have been good all season at least, and this game was no different as he ran 65% on the draws. Janne Kuokkanen had a solid night next to him with a  goal and assist and is keeping up a good pace despite not getting the best matchups, linemates, or any real powerplay time.

The fourth line was really the only bright spot in the first two periods. Miles Wood was rewarded with a goal in the third period  to really turn up the entire team’s tempo. His shot looks far better this year and he really showed it by roofing the puck over the goaltender instead of firing it into his pads. He really is fun to watch this year and is continuing to roll.

The pass from Jesper Bratt on Wood’s goal was a really heads up play. His skill has been showing most games but being shuffled around has really hurt his production without Nico Hischier in the lineup. He should be given a bigger role. Only getting 13:43 minutes of ice time is really surprising for him, and it is harder to produce like this. As one of the teams better players, and one who has showed more than some, he should be getting more opportunity.

The Bad

More from Pucks and Pitchforks

Andreas Johnsson was benched for the last half of the game after going -2 and it is easy to see why. His last point was 10 games ago against the very same Washington Capitals and this is way to long for almost any forward let alone a top six player who was consistent when healthy for the Maple Leafs. His physical play is lacking to and was something that was actually talked about positively when he was coming over before the season so he needs to find that part of his game to at least contribute in some way when not scoring or he will be finding his way out of the lineup quickly.

Other than the pass by Bratt, the top 6 was rather quiet all night. Pavel Zacha has been carrying a lot of the workload lately. While Jack Hughes has had chances, the other big names have not done as well. Kyle Palmieri still is up and down and needs to stop getting frustrated on a game by game basis so he can get back to what he does best. Nikita Gusev has been a disaster and may only get back in to the lineup due to Johnsson being so bad.

If any of the others slump like Gusev or Johnsson, the Devils will be in big trouble.

Home/Editorials