Devils Stars Dominate; Special Teams Thriving; Declaw Panthers in Home Opener

To open their season at home, the New Jersey Devils had the tall task of hosting the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers.

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It was an immediate, tough test for the Devils, who are looking to take the next step from playoff to Stanley Cup contender. Despite the absence of the Panthers captain, Sasha Barkov, and Matthew Tkachuk, the Cats remain Stanley Cup favorites.

Yet, the Devils kept the foot on the gas all night long, and earned a 3-1 victory in front of their fans for the first time this season.

Let’s get to how it happened.

First Period

The Devils started strong through the first minute and thirty seconds of the first period, holding puck possession and put two quick shots on Daniil Tarasov. However, a giveaway in the neutral zone sent Brad Marchand to the Devils’ end of the ice. After Marchand’s initial shot was turned away by Jake Allen, Evan Rodrigues deposited a rebound to put New Jersey behind 1-0.

The Panthers kept the pressure on in the offensive zone, forcing their way to a power play after Luke Hughes went to the box for tripping. The Devils’ penalty kill remained strong, however, and the two sides returned to even strength.

As the period developed, the Devils and Panthers traded penalties, totaling five in the opening frame, giving the New Jersey three power plays, and two that went to Florida.

Yet, neither side converted, and the period ended with the Cats holding a 1-0 lead in the first intermission, despite a considerable push by the Devils to earn back the goal they gave up.

Second Period

The Devils came out in the second period just as strong as they ended the first. Jack Hughes drew a tripping penalty on Rodrigues, and sent New Jersey to their fourth power play of the night at 05:04 of the second period.

Just as quickly as the New Jersey star put them on the man advantage, he scored his first goal of the season to tie the game at one.

The Devils continued to apply the pressure, and created some grade-A chances in the offensive zone. Yet, Tarasov stood strong, most notably robbing both Jack and Timo Meier on the back door on separate occasions.

Despite peppering Tarasov with 13 shots in the middle frame, as opposed to Florida’s nine, the Devils and Panthers went into the second intermission knotted at one.

Third Period

30 seconds after the puck dropped for the third period, Jesper Bratt was called for his second penalty of the game, a hooking minor on Sam Bennett.

The Devils PK unit stayed strong, killing their fourth penalty of the night to keep the score tied.

As even strength play developed, the Devils contained the puck in Florida’s end of the ice. A shot-pass from the point by Simon Nemec was redirected on net by Meier, who netted his third goal of the season and gave the Devils their first lead of the night, 2-1.

The scoring didn’t end there, however. With a loose puck in Florida’s slot, Dawson Mercer made an incredible diving play to push the puck to an open Nico Hischier. The Devils captain ripped a shot from the right circle, and extended the New Jersey’s lead to 3-1.

Sam Reinhart and the Panthers thought they cut New Jersey’s lead to 3-2 with some late pressure. Ultimately, it was determined there was incidental contact by Anton Lundell on Allen.

The Devils then killed the clock by maintaining puck possession in the offensive zone. The buzzer sounded to end the game, and New Jersey solidified a three-game win-streak in their home opener.

New Jersey’s penalty kill went a perfect 5/5, while the power play scored once on four chances.

Allen made 21 saves on 22 shots and earned his first win of the season.