Devils Postgame
Markstrom Flips Script, Mercer Stays Hot, Devils Snap Skid vs. Kings
On the back of an excellent bounce-back by Jacob Markstrom, and Dawson Mercer’s two short-handed goals, the Devils beat the Kings 4-1.
Not even Shohei Ohtani could save the Los Angeles Kings from Jacob Markstrom.
Just about 24 hours after he signed a brand new two-year extension, Markstrom manned the New Jersey Devils’ net against the Kings as they sought to snap a two-game skid.
An unexpected injury to Connor Brown took another key player out of New Jersey’s lineup.
READ MORE: Another Key Injury Forces Major Changes to Devils Lines
Thus, the Devils’ lines looked quite different.
None of it would matter, however, as the Devils netminder went on to turn in his strongest performance of the season to propel New Jersey to their ninth victory of the season, snapping a two-game skid.
Let’s get into how the Devils earned their ninth win of the season.
First Period
As opposed to their last two games, the Devils got off to an excellent start, and took an early 1-0 lead. Luke Hughes picked up a puck at the Kings blueline and rifled a wrister toward Darcy Kuemper. Nico Hischier redirected the shot past the Los Angeles goaltender and put the Devils on top early.
Luke’s primary assist on Hischier’s third goal of the season serves as his 100th career NHL point.
The Kings tilted the ice in their favor after the Devils scored. However, Jacob Markstrom stood strong and kept them off the board early.
Los Angeles peppered Markstrom with 14 shots, although, just five of them were high-danger chances.
The first period ended with New Jersey holding a 1-0 lead, and despite the 14-8 shot differential, the scoring chances were even at nine.
Second Period
The Devils get off to another strong start in the middle frame, hanging onto the puck and pressure Kuemper in the offensive zone.
Just over three minutes into the second period, Luke Glendening connected with Brian Halonen with a leading pass at the right circle, and Halonen rifled a shot passed Kuemper to double the Devils’ lead to 2-0.
Halonen’s goal is the first of his NHL career.
The Devils took two second-period penalties after doubling their lead, first when Arseny Gritsyuk was called for holding Joel Armia at 05:50, then again at 13:50 when Hischier hooked Alex Laferriere. Without the services of Brown and Brett Pesce due to injury, Keefe and Jeremy Colliton deployed different units by committee.
Despite missing some of their best PKers, the Devils were able to stop the Kings from scoring with strong defending, and goaltending from Markstrom.
The second period buzzer sounded, and despite the Kings throwing 18 shots on Markstrom in the middle frame, the game went into the second intermission with the Devils holding a 2-0 lead.
Third Period
The third period began with the Devils going to an early penalty kill after Timo Meier was assessed a tripping minor against Mikey Anderson.
However, Dawson Mercer stayed hot, picking up a loose puck at the Devils’ blueline, led a rush to the offensive zone with Hischier, and fired the puck by Kuemper, and scored short-handed for his seventh goal of the season, extending New Jersey’s lead to 3-0.
The Kings eventually broke through, however. Below the goal line, Anze Kopitar connected with a streaking Andrei Kuzmenko, who chipped the puck by Markstrom for Los Angeles’ first goal halfway through the third period.
Shortly after the Kuzmenko goal, the Los Angeles Dodgers tied the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, which was simulcasting the Kings broadcast on the jumbotron.
The crowd erupted, giving the Kings a certain jolt, to which Sheldon Keefe decided he needed to call timeout.
It worked, as the Devils settled down
Dougie Hamilton was assessed a late tripping penalty, however, sending the Devils to a late penalty kill at the 15:39 mark. The Kings pulled Kuemper for the extra attacker with over four minutes left to play. Yet, Mercer scored his second short-handed goal of the night to regain the Devils’ three-goal lead at 4-1.
Markstrom earned the primary assist on Mercer’s short-handed, empty-net goal.
The Devils proceeded to lock down the remainder of the third period, snapping their two-game skid in a 4-1 victory.
Markstrom turned in a huge bounce-back performance, stopping 41 of 42 pucks, with 2.92 saves above expected.
