The New Jersey Devils didn’t have thier best game of the season on Monday night. They allowed the Washington Capitals to come to the Prudential Center and beat them. It wasn’t even the worst game of all time but they were really bad in the second period.
They entered the third period down 5-1 but they made it a game and eventually lost the game 6-3. Alexander Ovechkin scored a power-play goal in that middle frame and that was one of the many bad things that happened for New Jersey.
In 2021-22, the Devils would have laid down in the third period and not had any hope of coming back. This team is different. They weren’t able to complete the comeback as it was too little too late but they carried some momentum into Tuesday’s game.
They got on a plane and went to Michigan to take on the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit had yet to lose in regulation so you know that things weren’t going to be easy. With 12 forwards and six defensemen in the lineup for the first time in a handful of games, they needed a big effort.
The New Jersey Devils showed that they can bring it following a tough loss.
Vitek Vanecek got the start for the Devils and it was rocky early. He allowed a goal just under three minutes into the game. However, instead of imploding, Vanecek and the Devils settled down and started playing their game again.
Dawson Mercer, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Yegor Sharangovich scored four goals in a row to make it a 4-1 Devils lead. All of those guys are going to be relied on to score goals so it was great to see the team get some much-needed offense.
The Devils did face a little bit more adversity when Dominik Kubalik got one for the Red Wings at 8:17 of the third period. There was plenty of time for the Red Wings to spoil what was a great game for the Devils late.
They pressured for a while but the Devils are different this year. Last year’s team would have absolutely let the Red Wings score two more and tie the game. This year’s squad just scored two more goals to take the 6-2 win.
Nico Hischier scored a beautiful spinning goal off of a beautiful feed from Tomas Tatar. Jesper Bratt scored the sixth goal for his second of the game and now the floodgates are officially open for him as he got his first in that Washington loss. That’s three in two games for number 63.
All of the players that New Jersey needs to contribute on a nightly basis had goals in this one. Vitek Vanecek and all of the defensemen did their job as well which is very important for a highly skilled team like the Red Wings. Outshooting them 41-22 sure is impressive.
The Devils have now won four of their last five games and can clearly bounce back from a tough loss. The rest of this season is still sort of a mystery as this is a young team but they are looking good.
Their next game will surely be a test as they welcome the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche to the Prudential Center. That one is going to be a lot of fun to watch if both teams bring the speed that we know they can.