3 Thoughts: Markstrom WOW, Devils Better in OT Win, But…

NEWARK—With the Tampa Bay Lightning in town, the New Jersey Devils had a few things to prove.

The Lightning had the Devils’ number this season, winning the two previous contests against New Jersey. The Devils were also in the thick of a tough stretch of games that saw them collect one win and three points in their last six games.

They went to overtime on Saturday for the second time in as many games. As opposed to going home empty-handed like they did Thursday night, the Devils won in the extra frame on home ice in a 3-2 victory.

Devils Recap

On home ice, it was the Devils who struck first to take a 1-0 lead early in the first period. Against his former team, Ondrej Palat redirected a Dougie Hamilton shot from the blueline past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Victor Hedman, however, evened the score nearly two minutes later with Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom screened.

The second period nearly went scoreless. However, Jack Hughes regained the Devils’ lead, gaining the Lightning slot and beat Vasilevskiy over the left shoulder.

The Devils accrued just one shot in the third period. On the other end of the ice, the Lightning tied the game again after Nikita Kucherov scored on a breakaway.

The Devils and Lightning required overtime. After Jack Hughes drew a tripping penalty on Nick Paul, head coach Sheldon Keefe opted for four forwards in overtime. The unique strategy paid off as Stefan Noesen scored the overtime winning goal from his office as the net-front presence.

Markstrom made 23 saves on 25 shots, turning aside all four shots by the Lightning on their power play.

3 Thoughts

Ondrej Palat

Over the last few seasons, Ondrej Palat has taken a lot of heat for not living up to his contract.

However, he’s been much stronger of late, with seven goals and 11 points in his last 15 games.

He scored against his former club on Saturday night, opening the scoring in the first period. As the Devils cycled the puck, Palat battled with Darren Raddysh in and out of the slot and in front of Vasilevskiy. Palat eventually redirected a Hamilton shot from the point, registering his 10th goal of the season against his former club.

Palat does all the little things right, which open up the ice for Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. However, he’s getting rewarded himself, and has rounded out the Hughes line quite well this season.

Jacob Markstrom Supremacy

What’s left to say about Jacob Markstrom? The Devils’ netminder has simply been incredible for New Jersey since the beginning of December.

He’s made highlight reel save after highlight reel save, bailing his teammates out on multiple occasions.

He was at it again on Saturday night while the Lightning were on the power play.

Brayden Point had a wide-open net as the net-front presence and shoveled the puck toward the goal on the backhand. However, yet another sprawling save by Markstrom kept the puck from crossing the goal line which brought most, if not all, Devils fans to their feet.

Jacob Markstrom is going be big mad that Jacob Markstrom just outdid him for save of the year. Again. pic.twitter.com/0LF2q37Ffv

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 12, 2025

The Devils don’t want to have to make Markstrom continue to make those kinds of saves on a nightly basis, but he’s certainly been the safety net they’ve needed when all else fails.

Better Effort, But…

The Devils played a better game than they have in the last two weeks.

READ: Devils Locker Room: Simple Q, ‘What’s Been the Biggest Challenge Recently?’ (+)

Part of the boost was getting the energy from their fans, who were raucous on Saturday. However, although the Devils started so well, things certainly tailed off as the game unfolded.

The Devils ended the first period, outshooting the Lightning 14-9. Then as the ensuing two periods wrapped up, their shot total drastically decreased, putting just six pucks on net in the second, and only one in the third.

The third period really stood out as the outlier. Two crucial penalties at the beginning of the third period never really allowed the Devils to get their footing. As a result, Kucherov tied the game at two and forced things to go to overtime.

The Devils played well through the first 35 to 40 minutes of this contest. However, they’ll need to work on staying out of the penalty box and getting back to playing 60-minute efforts.

For more Devils news, visit New Jersey Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.

Follow us on 𝕏:

@NJDHockeyNow, @JamesNicholsNHL, @NickNatale10

And on Threads:

@JamesNicholsNHL