The New Jersey Devils had a lot go against them on Sunday night. The Chicago Blackhawks had an epic performance by Spencer Knight for a majority of the game, Timo Meier couldn’t buy a goal despite having four individual high-danger chances and eight total shots, and the team faced a questionable call in the third period against Cody Glass that put them at a 5on3 deficit. During that penalty, the Blackhawks scored the go-ahead goal.
For most of this season, that would have been a deficit the Devils couldn’t come back from. That’s not how the Devils have been playing since they returned from the Olympic break. For some reason, what we’ve hoped to see from the Devils came way too late. They didn’t quit, kept pushing on the Blackhawks, and ended up putting four goals past Knight. Jack Hughes added a fifth goal on an empty net. That finished off his four-point night.
Looking at the Devils as a whole, they were the exact opposite of the team that put up a complete stinker against the Carolina Hurricanes 24 hours prior. They dominated in the offensive zone, and they limited chances on defense. Even if they allowed Connor Bedard to get his opportunity, the defensemen got back and broke things up.Â
When looking at the Natural Stat Trick statistics, it really shows how dominant the Devils were in this game. They held an 81-46 chance advantage at 5v5, including a 27-8 advantage in the third period. the defensemen got back to stop multiple high-danger chances. The Devils had 26 high-danger chances at 5v5, while the Blackhawks had nine. The Devils finished with more than six expected goals, even though they only scored five.
The New Jersey Devils were back to their dominant ways against the Chicago Blackhawks
Jack Hughes played the role of superstar and once again stayed red hot. Connor Brown scored a goal and came within an inch of a second late in the third period. Simon Nemec scored his fifth-career goal against the Blackhawks after scoring a hat trick earlier this season, and Dougie Hamilton scored the game-tying goal with a snipe of the top-left corner in the middle of the third period.
The Devils move on to the final nine games of the season. Despite the win, they are still 10 points out of a playoff spot with everyone ahead of them playing out of their mind.
Last season, the Devils made the playoffs with 42 wins, and the Montreal Canadiens made the playoffs with 40 wins. This year’s Devils team has 38 wins, and they have no chance to make the postseason. It is what it is. Winning is important for this team, as they need to build confidence and passion going into the offseason.Â