New Jersey Devils Fall In 0-2 Hole After Groundhog Day Game 2

It was very tempting to just copy and paste the postgame story from Game 1 after the New Jersey Devils lost to the New York Rangers by the same 5-1 score. Hell, it was so similar that even Chris Kreider posted the same goal total (two) as he did in the Rangers’ Game 1 triumph (all four coming on the power play). For all the similarities between the two ass-kickings the Devils took on home ice this week, Game 2 was slightly different in some ways.

For starters, New Jersey scored first – and on the power play – and held their first lead of the series heading into the first intermission. They weren’t producing the shot volume we’ve become accustomed to with these Devils over the first 20 minutes, but there were a handful of positives. Erik Haula netted the goal, the depth scoring they will need to extend this series. They kept New York’s power play off the board in their only attempt of the first period.

“They just have so many threats out there that it’s hard to worry about one single guy,” Devils defenseman John Marino replied when asked about Kreider’s prowess on the power play. “They spread it out pretty well, too. Tomorrow’s a new day, and we’ll take it from there.”

The middle period is where the game really went off the rails. New Jersey only mustered five shots on goal to the Rangers’ nine, and New York’s power play cashed in twice in a span of 6:03 to turn a 1-1 game into a 3-1 lead very quickly.

“Special teams, I think that is pretty much the story of this game,” Timo Meier said after the loss. “We’re not doing a good job on the power play, and they are doing a good job on the power play – and scoring. That puts you down a couple of goals and, yeah, we have to clean up some things.”

“But at the same time, this is a great challenge in front of us. This is what we’ve worked for all year, and we’re going to stay positive while trying to correct some things.”

Vladimir Tarasenko netted the tying goal, and his second of the series at 5:53, followed by Kreider’s two power-play tallies at 9:57 and 16:00. Meanwhile on New Jersey’s power play, they could barely enter the zone, too often deferring to Jack Hughes to carry the puck across the blue line and sea of Rangers penalty killers. Perhaps in Game 3, we’ll see no. 86 starting to chip those pucks into the corner for his mates to retrieve so that the Devils can have some semblance of power play zone time with their first unit.

“For us, it’s going to come down to getting more easy pucks at the net and then getting second chances,” Devils winger Jesper Bratt said. “They’re giving us the outside (lanes) but those Grade A chances aren’t going to come unless we open it up with longer shifts in the o-zone and if we get a lot of movement.”

“We just have to keep it a little more simple – get more pucks to the net and get more bodies in front (of the net) to take away the eyes of Igor (Shesterkin).”

Still, entering the third period New Jersey was only down two goals, a deficit they’d overcome countless times during the regular season. On the flip side of that – they only had 14 shots on goal (one less than their two-period total in Game 1) heading into the final period and when Patrick Kane picked Marino’s pocket and beat Vitek Vanecek like he was Patrick Kane from eight years ago to extend the lead to 4-1 at 6:34, the game was over right then and there.

Now, the Devils need to win at least one game in MSG to extend their season or it could all be over on Monday night in Game 4. Their confidence may be shaken, but we’ll really see what this group is capable of in a not technically, but definitely a must-win situation in Game 3. They’ve been road warriors all season long, and they’ve also proven a lot of us wrong all season long, so let’s see what happens when those two trains meet on Saturday night in primetime in the self-proclaimed World’s Most Famous Arena.

“We started out this season 0-2 and then after that we went 18-1-1, so we see this series as far from over,” Bratt responded when asked why he is hopeful his squad can turn around a series that is getting late pretty early. “We’ve come back from games like this before and we’re looking forward to the next game. We know the kind of guys that we have in this room, we’re going to bring a lot more energy over the next couple of games.”

The Rangers found a way to bottle up Nico Hischier, Tomas Tatar, and Dawson Mercer in Game 2, limiting the trio to a total of zero shots combined in the game. That has to change in Game 3 and maybe the lines will as well.

We should also expect to see the return of Jonas Siegenthaler (healthy scratch for Game 2) and the playoff debut of Curtis Lazar (healthy scratch for Games 1 & 2) in Game 3. Maybe Luke Hughes will draw in as well? We’ll find out Saturday night.