3 Thoughts: Devils Lack Control; Pay For Penalties in Ugly OT vs. Rangers

MANHATTAN—With Matt Rempe returning to the New York Rangers’ lineup on Thursday, many expected fireworks against the New Jersey Devils in Madison Square Garden. Instead, we got a back-and-forth tilt in which the Hudson River Rivals sloppily traded chances, ultimately ending up in a 3-2 Rangers victory in overtime.

Although they’re home, the Devils finally ended their road trip on Thursday, going 1-4-1 away from home. It’s certainly their worst stretch of the season, and they’re hoping to get back on track Saturday when they return to home ice.

Here’s how it went down on Thursday.

Devils Recap

Luke Hughes thought he broke open the scoring in the first period. However, after review, it was determined the puck never crossed the goal line. With Kurtis MacDermid in the box for interference, Adam Fox gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead on the power play, scoring his second goal of the season.

The Devils’ stars took over in the second period. A Brett Pesce shot from the point was deflected past Igor Shesterkin to tie the game at a goal each. Later, Jesper Bratt scored on the rush to give the Devils their first lead of the night. Before the Devils could escape with a lead, however, Artemi Panarin knotted the game at two with another power play goal.

A low-event third period went scoreless, and it was the Rangers who prevailed in overtime on the stick of Sam Carrick.

Jacob Markstrom had yet another strong start, making 30 saves on 33 shots.

3 Thoughts

Lacking Control

Before Sheldon Keefe, the Devils primarily collected their scoring chances on the rush at even strength. It worked for them two seasons ago, coupled with one of the top power plays in the league. However, they didn’t have the horses to keep that pace up last season, which contributed to their demise.

This season, Keefe has implemented a system that can score both on the rush, and with puck possession in the offensive zone after cycling the puck. In fact, before they returned from the holiday break, the Devils were dominating possession in the oppositions end of the ice. As a result, they amassed a plethora of scoring chances, which netted them eight wins in December.

Post-holiday break, the Devils just haven’t been able to click the way they did previously. It’s impacted both their ability to defend at the elite rate they were before, and the cycle hasn’t presented itself cleanly in their last seven games now.

Lazy Penalties

The Devils might not have been able to cleanly control the puck all that much at even strength. But, at least they didn’t give up any goals 5-on-5.

Instead, the Rangers scored twice on the power play as the Devils were unable to kill either of the first two chances off.

For starters, they really shouldn’t have been on either penalty kill. Kurtis MacDermid was called for an interference infraction, and Nico Hischier a rare hooking. Both were results of a lazy play, and the Devils ended up paying the price.

There wasn’t much the Devils could have done about Fox ripping a shot from the blueline that broke Johnathan Kovacevic’s stick on the way and went in. However, on their second power play goal, the Devils’ structure was ultimately lost and Panarin deposited a rebound uncontested.

Nathan Bastian took another lazy penalty in the third period when he tripped Artemi Panarin after losing his position. The Devils were fortunate enough to sustain some offensive pressure shorthanded, however, which resulted in Mika Zibanejad taking a slashing penalty to make it a 4-on-4 hockey game.

Penalties are going to happen, but if power play goals come as a result of lazy penalties, it’s certainly a harder pill to swallow.

Ugly Overtime

The Devils haven’t been sharp in regulation, and they’re trying to figure out why. However, overtime can be explained. They haven’t practiced 3-on-3 very much, nor have they been in that situation too much this season either.

On Thursday, overtime came down to taking too many risks, and mostly by their superstar, Jack Hughes.

Hughes committed quite a few turnovers throughout the game, but in overtime he forked over the puck twice. Markstrom was there to bail him out the first time, but Carrick converted the second time on the overtime winner.

The Devils don’t want to get to the extra frame, but they’ll certainly need to tighten up if they find themselves there in the future.

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