The New Jersey Devils are a wagon. We’ve heard the term multiple times, but it’s hard to consider them anything but that after their current run of dominance. On Saturday night, they had 50 shots against Ilya Sorokin, and they needed every single one of them to get the win. Jack Hughes scored in overtime for the third time this season, and it came thanks to a huge defensive play by Luke Hughes.
Frankly, this is a game the Devils lost last year. Everything was working against them in the luck factor. Outside of power plays, which the Devils actually led 4-0, the Devils were doing so much and getting such little reward.
At the end of the game, they had 50 shots. At one point, the Islanders had 11 shots and four goals. Jake Allen had a very rough first two periods before shutting things down in the third. Former Devils teams would have turtled when they failed to score on the power play to start the third period.
When Nico Hischier was robbed three times by Ilya Sorokin on extremely high-danger chances, previous Devils teams would have played for the next night. “You can’t win them all” was the previous mantra for this franchise. This feels like a completely different team.
"Loved the resilience, it's very rewarding kind of getting a win like that."Luke Evangelista, Devils winger
The postgame quotes continued to talk about how this was a "gritty" and "resilient" win. Jack Hughes called it a “big win” and said he appreciated how they were “chipping away.” Luke Hughes called it “big for morale.” Sheldon Keefe said he felt “confidence” in his group even going into the third period.
"The guys just feel the energy, and as coaches, it was important that we were living it in terms of staying positive and keeping the guys upbeat. I thought we were really really good. "Sheldon Keefe, New Jersey Devils
Keefe would go on to talk about how the result of the game didn't matter as much to him. He was happy with the two points, but he was even happier with the process. There's another big difference between this year's team and last year's. Keefe seems like a completely different coach. He has his finger on the pulse and knows what the group needs on any given night and any given period.
Overall, the Devils should never be counted out. They have the firepower to overcome any deficit. After losing to the Islanders 6-0 earlier this season, Saturday night's game was necessary for the Devils. It's one thing to beat teams in the Western Conference. The Devils have to show they can beat the teams in their way.
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