devils fall to kings
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back For Devils in Loss to Kings By Matt Blittner, The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com
There’s an old saying that lightning doesn’t strike the same spot twice. So you would be forgiven if your hopes for a Devils victory over Los Angeles weren’t high; especially after their stunner of a win over Carolina Saturday night.
Well, the old saying proved true because Sunday night in Newark, New Jersey, the Devils were unable to maintain the momentum gained against Carolina and fell to Los Angeles 3-2.
There was some good and some bad in this one, so let’s look at what transpired.
1) First things first, the Devils were once again without goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, who, although he suited up as the backup, was deemed not yet ready to play by Head Coach Lindy Ruff. We know Blackwood is dealing with some injuries that require attention and likely won’t heal fully until the off-season. But the Devils aren’t the same team when he’s not in net.
Jon Gillies, fresh off his first win as a Devil, turned in a solid, if unspectacular 34-save performance against the Kings in a losing effort.
“Tough to lose this kind of game,” Jesper Bratt said after the game. “Gillies had a good game. He’s been doing a great job for us.”
“He gave us a chance to win a hockey game,” Lindy Ruff added.
2) It always helps to score first and early. A beauty of an outlet pass from Damon Severson to Jesper Bratt two-minutes into the game led to Bratt pulling a shake and bake on defenseman Sean Durzi and goalie Cal Petersen to net the first goal of the game. 1-0 Devils 2:37 into the first period.
“The energy was good in the first (period)” said Lindy Ruff. “(We) made a few mistakes in the second…Gotta give them (The Kings) a lot of credit.”
3) As we discussed after the Carolina game, New Jersey needs to learn how to play with a lead. 3:10 after Bratt scored Alex Iafallo led an odd man rush up the ice while the teams skated four-aside and sniped the puck past Gillies to tie the game. 1-1 at 5:47.
Devils Captain Nico Hischier said after the Carolina game that it is a learning process. It appears class is still in session.
4) Staying out of the penalty box is always important. The fewer opportunities you give the opposition the better off you’ll be. However, the Devils sent three players to the sin bin in the first period. Lucky for New Jersey that Los Angeles sent four players to the box during the opening period. That leads us to my next point…
5) Taking advantage of your opportunities. Devils Head Coach Lindy Ruff has often said his team leaves too many opportunities out there on the ice. It’s fair to say that wasn’t a problem in the first period as the Devils scored two-goals (one on the power-play); both courtesy of Jesper Bratt. When New Jersey’s big guns step up good things happen.
6) Bratt’s first period power-play goal marked the fourth consecutive game the Devils have scored on the man-advantage. To be a successful team in the NHL you have to be able to score in all situations. And a fun little metric to determine your success rate is to take your penalty-kill percentage and add it to your power-play percentage. If the sum is 100 or higher than you’re generally in good shape. But that’s not a rule.
Against Los Angeles, the Devils were 1-for-2 on the power-play and 3-for-3 on the penalty-kill. That adds up to a sum of 150 (50% on power-play and 100% on penalty-kill). It may be a small, one-game sample size but you get the idea.
“Usually, the best teams have the best power-plays,” said Bratt. “We’ve been working on that a lot lately.”
7) It’s difficult for any team to play well for a full 60-minutes. But for a young team like the Devils it’s imperative they learn to do so quickly. The second period against Los Angeles was proof of what happens when you take your foot off the gas ever so slightly.
The Devils didn’t intentionally ease up, but with a 2-1 lead the Garden Staters played things a little too safe during the middle period and paid the price. With 15:59 gone in the second period Viktor Arvidsson got in behind New Jersey’s defense and buried the puck past Jon Gillies to tie the game 2-2.
8) After getting outshot 14-5 and outscored 1-0 in the second period, the Devils wanted to make adjustments so the third period would be different. Whatever those adjustments were, they either weren’t made or didn’t work as the Kings outshot New Jersey 13-4 through the first 11:20 of the third period and Los Angeles also scored the go-ahead goal.
Carl Grundstrom sent the puck around the back of the net, came out to the slot, received a pass from Dustin Brown along the wall and fired the puck past Gillies – blocker side – for the go-ahead goal with just 8:55 to go in regulation.
Unlike against Carolina, the Devils were unable to fight back to tie this game and lost to the Kings 3-2.
GAME NOTES
New Jersey’s power-play went 1-for-2 on the night while the penalty-kill went 2-for-2…Nico Hischier led all Devils forwards in ice time at 18:40…Damon Severson led all New Jersey defensemen in ice time at 25:13.
