4 Takeaways: Devils Show Grit, Play Simple in Win Over Senators

It wasn’t pretty, but the New Jersey Devils hung on a victory on Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators.

It was a tough week for the Devils, losing in back-to-back games against division rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers.

Not to mention, it was an all-out war on Wednesday on Broadway.

A few days off from game action was a good reset for New Jersey, however.

Let’s dive into the Devils’ 4-3 victory over the Senators.

Devils Recap

The Devils got off to a solid start against the Senators, and thus, scored first and exited the opening frame with a lead. Jack Hughes fed Erik Haula on an odd-man rush for the opening goal. Then, it was Ondrej Palat redirecting a shot by Luke Hughes to double the Devils’ lead. Closing out the first period, a blast from the point by Brendan Smith found the back of the net to end the first period 3-0 New Jersey.

Jake Sanderson quickly got the Senators on the scoreboard 33 seconds into the second period. However, the Devils kept on the gas and answered back halfway through the middle frame on a goal by Nico Hischier.

The third period got a bit rocky, again. Goals by Claude Giroux on the power play and Brady Tkachuk at even strength brought the game within a goal. However, the Devils hung on until the final buzzer, winning 4-3.

Jake Allen made 25 saves on 28 shots collecting his fifth win with New Jersey.

Takeaways

Devils Keep it Simple

The Devils certainly kept things simple against the Senators. Each of their first three goals to open the game were the simple, yet effective ways in which teams win games.

Palat’s goal highlighted the simplicity best. What started as a simple dump-in resulted in a puck behind Forsberg.

With the puck deep in Ottawa’s zone, Jakob Chychrun picked up the loose puck. However, Alexander Holtz pressured the Senators defenseman and forced a turnover. Holtz pushed the puck to Luke Hughes at the blue line who promptly put a shot on net and with Palat in position, the veteran redirected the rookie shot past Forsberg.

Pally Walnuts with the 🤌 deflection. pic.twitter.com/pdEClXeH2c

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 6, 2024

The very same can be said of the Devils’ third goal. Hughes ensured the puck was pushed below Ottawa’s goal line. With pressure from Ottwa’s defense, both Hughes and Nico Hischier won the puck battle and snuck the rubber out to Jesper Bratt. The Swedish winger pushed the puck to the blue line where Smith ripped a shot through traffic and into the Ottawa goal.

Simple, effective hockey saw the Devils play ahead early in this contest.

Tough Devils

After Wednesday night’s Royal Rumble in Manhattan, the Devils are feeling themselves.

The Senators play a heavy game, especially with players such as Brady Tkachuk in the lineup. Add Bokondji Imama — who was called up earlier in the day to Ottawa — and the Senators could do some damage physically.

Well, Imama tried to get the party started early. When he was on the ice with one of the stars of Wednesday’s brawl, Kurtis MacDermid, Imama nudged the Devils forward to drop the mitts.

MacDermid happily obliged.

It wasn’t anywhere near the level of scrap it was against the Rangers. MacDermid made quick work of Imama, getting in a could of punches before wrestling the 221-lb forward to the ground.

Here is Kurtis MacDermid vs. Boko Imama#NJDevils pic.twitter.com/2SltDjnpfo

— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) April 6, 2024

After they fell behind 3-0 before the end of the first period, the Senators began to ramp up their physicality. At the final buzzer, the Devils and Senators engaged in some extracurricular activity centered around Tkachuk and Kevin Bahl.

Tkachuk was at it again near the final buzzer, going after the Devils’ captain for some odd reason.

A scrum ensued and Brendan Smith was happy to oblige Tkachuk’s request to chuck knucks, however, the linesmen and referees split the two sides before any action ensued.

The Devils, if nothing else, have at least shown some grease of late. Certainly, it’s a quality they’ll want to hang onto.

Hughes-Haula-Bratt Buoy Devils

Interim head coach Travis Green didn’t keep the Devils’ lines intact all night.

However, he went back to one of the lines he started with in Hughes, Haula, and Bratt.

That’s because they were far and away the best forward line of all four lines for the Devils against the Senators. The Devils trio combined for four points, two from Bratt and one each from Hughes and Haula.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the trio accrued a positive 10-4 scoring chance differential at 5-on-5, coupled with a 63.64 CF% and 72.04 xGF%.

Career Night

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Brendan Smith.

The veteran defenseman found the back of the net for the second time in consecutive games. Smith’s goal on Wednesday and again on Saturday marks the first time in his career that the 35-year-old scored in back-to-back games.

Smith also collected three points scoring a goal and adding two helpers, another career-first for the veteran.

In the closing moments of the game, the Devils held onto a one-goal lead. Smith sacrificed the body for a crucial blocked shot helping the Devils cross the finish line and collect two points.

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