Devils Postgame
Another Key Devils Injury; Meier Plays Hero; Daws, Hughes, Bratt Will Win Over Penguins
Devils suffer another key injury; Timo Meier scores the shootout winner; Nico Daws, Jack Hughes, & Jesper Bratt will win over the Penguins.

In the face of adversity, the New Jersey Devils needed their star players. The head coach has been vocal about it, and on Tuesday night, he got it. Despite lingering issues with depth scoring, what head coach Sheldon Keefe also got was a strong performance from Nico Daws in his first start of the season.
Coming into their Tuesday night tilt, the Devils were 8-1-0 in their last nine games against the Pittsburgh Penguins. That should have left them confident heading into the tilt. However, their recent play and injuries have shaken their confidence, making a probable two points against a non-playoff team a toss-up.
The good news?
New Jersey got a bit healthier when Erik Haula was penned into the lineup to make his return after missing 12 games.
The Devils and Penguins got off to a mediocre start, as neither team really established any sort of control inside the first 10 minutes of the game. Just before the halfway mark of the opening frame, the Devils were already forced to play shorthanded as Jonas Siegenthaler took an awkward spill that sent him to the New Jersey locker room hobbling on just his left leg.
Siegenthaler did not return for the remainder of the game, and the Devils played with five defensemen for over 40 minutes.
The Penguins later took a bit of control in the first period. After some sustained offensive pressure, Pittsburgh believed they scored first when the puck ended up in the back of New Jersey’s net. However, the officials waved off the goal for a kicking motion by Rickard Rakell, and the review upheld the on-ice call.
The Devils then pushed the puck up ice to the offensive zone. A broken up rush started by Jack Hughes saw Ondrej Palat pick up the loose puck in the Penguins’ slot. The Devils forward shoveled the puck on net, and Nedeljkovic made the initial save. Yet, with the puck loose in the Penguins’ crease, Hughes’ secondary scoring chance bounced off the skate of a Penguins defender and over the goal line, sending the Devils into the first intermission up 1-0.
New Jersey received an early power play to start the second period. Rakell was assessed a double minor for drawing blood whilst high-sticking Justin Dowling. The last time the Devils received a four-minute minor, it sucked the wind right out of them after they failed to convert.
The Devils, although sustained some pressure, failed to convert again on the elongated power play opportunity. Their best chance on the man advantage was a shot that did, in fact, beat Nedeljkovic. However, Timo Meier‘s rifle of a shot hit the post and stayed out of the Penguins’ net.
The Devils didn’t let the failed four-minute power play hinder them this time, however.
In the offensive zone, Hughes beat Crosby in the face-off circle, and the puck landed on Bratt’s stick. Hughes broke for the slot, Bratt curled and fed the Devils star in a high-danger area and scored on a one-timer, extending New Jersey’s lead to 2-0.
Coming into Tuesday night, Daws played just one NHL period in relief for Jake Allen on Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres.
About five minutes after Hughes scored, the Penguins took advantage of Daws’ inexperience. With the puck below the Devils’ goal line, Crosby found Rakell on Daws’ back door on a wrap around chance, and he cut New Jersey’s lead in half. The Devils’ goaltender didn’t exactly play the puck very well, losing the puck carrier and reacting late to the sequence that ended up in the Devils’ net.
Just under eight minutes into the third period, the Penguins tied the game on a goal by Kevin Hayes. It was the result of some poor defending after Joseph out-muscled Dawson Mercer driving to the slot, and Brett Pesce didn’t pick up an open Hayes in a high-danger area.
Regulation wasn’t enough for the Devils and Penguins. A slow overtime as the Penguins tried to slow down the Devils intensified in the final moments when Hughes was sprung for a breakaway with just seconds remaining. However, Nedeljkovic snagged Hughes’ attempt with the glove and to the shootout they went.
Rakell and Paul Cotter each scored in the first round of the shootout. Anthony Beauvillier beat Daws in the fourth round, but Dougie Hamilton ensured the shootout continued with a goal of his own. Daws stopped the next three shooters with some strong saves, and Meier buried the shootout winner.
Daws made 25 saves on 27 shots in regulation plus overtime, and was quite strong in his first start of the 2024-25 season.
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