Devils Postgame
Bratt’s Historic Night Marred; Devils’ Struggles Persist in Loss to Senators
Jesper Bratt’s historic night wasn’t enough to propel the Devils past the Senators as New Jersey’s struggles persist.
NEWARK—New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe had to burn his timeout five minutes into the second period against the Ottawa Senators. That should tell you all you need to know about how Saturday’s contest went.
Curtis Lazar returned to the lineup after missing the last game against the Calgary Flames. Ondrej Palat, although skating on his own, remained out of the lineup. Thus, the door opened for Nolan Foote to draw in for the third time in 2024-25.
Shane Pinto tripped Timo Meier early and sent the Devils to the power play. However, New Jersey negated their man advantage with just 10 seconds left. Nico Hischier was called for tripping Thomas Chabot while on the attack, and the Senators went to the power play for 1:50.
The Devils penalty kill was strong to start, giving Lazar an opportunity to score on a short-handed breakaway. However, Linus Ullmark turned the breakaway attempt aside, and Ottawa skated the puck to the New Jersey end of the ice.
After the Senators sustained some pressure on Jake Allen, the Devils’ goaltender was caught out of position, leaving the net wide-open.
With the puck on the end of Claude Giroux’s stick, his shot attempt was stopped by Lazar, who jumped into the crease a swiped the puck away from danger.
HOW ARE YA, CURTIS pic.twitter.com/LfBZS9Vmaz
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 22, 2025
The Senators came out in the second period ready to play. Whereas the Devils did not, slow footed to pucks and losing their battles.
It’s a problem the Devils have had over their last few games. Except, it’s typically been reserved for the third period.
It happened much sooner on Saturday. The Senators took a 2-0 lead within the first five minutes of the middle frame on quick goals by Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson.
The Devils later took back a smidgen of momentum, drawing a minor penalty when Tkachuk high-sticked Meier.
On the man advantage, Hischier cut the Ottawa lead in half. The goal was assisted by Jesper Bratt who made Devils franchise history on the play.
RELATED: Devils History! Jesper Bratt Breaks 31-Year-Old Single Season Franchise Record
Yet, when the game returned to even strength, the Senators continued to out-pace the Devils and regained their two goal lead.
With Stefan Noesen in the box for tripping Tyler Kleven, David Perron scored on the Senators power play to make it a 3-1 game halfway through the middle frame.
The Devils showed some fight in the third. In fact, it was their best period of play on Saturday night. Erik Haula scored with 22.3 seconds left in the third period. However, the Devils couldn’t find the equalizer before the final buzzer.
Thus, the Devils dropped their second game in a row in undesirable fashion.
Allen made 16 saves on 19 shots, breaking a three-game win streak.
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