After a 3 day Christmas break, the Devils were back at home hosting division rival Washington, where they fell in overtime 4-3.
Apologies for posting this late, I lost power last night in the storm that delivered no snow and only sleet. Which is kind of a metaphor for how I feel about this team right now: I wanted to the joy of a beautiful snow day, but instead got the worst weather possible – just gross icy, wet awful weather.
While this team desperately needs to win some games, it wasn’t all bad. We got another good goaltending game. Bratt emerged from his slumber, delivering 2 goals after not scoring for 6 games, and he and Jack were delivering some globetrotter shifts throughout the game. The power play scored a beautiful goal and the PK added a clean sheet. It’s there, and that is what makes this so frustrating.
1st Period
As the Devils have done recently, they came out on the front foot taking an early 8-1 shot lead through the first 7 and half minutes of the period. They were playing through the body, winning their minutes handily and generating some great chances – but they couldn’t score. Nico, Timo, Glass and Bratt all chances early that they couldn’t convert, and Washington turned the tide taking over the game going on 10-0 shot run, but Jake Allen stood tall. As the period wound down, the Caps threw an innocuous dump in to Siegenthaler’s corner, who inexplicably didn’t just eat the puck and threw a sloppy rim to Dougie. Ovechkin picked it up off the yellow, and threw it cross crease to a wide open Protas who chipped it up and over Allen’s pad with 0.4 seconds left. Just an absolute brutal moment, and something that cannot happen. A little shell shocked, we would go to intermission down 1-0.
2nd Period
After the game, Cody Glass indicated Jack gave the team a good tongue lashing in between periods – a good sign and good to see someone step in with some emotion, at least behind closed doors. And the team responded, stacking almost a full xG in the first 5 minutes of the second – but again, not delivering one single goal. It just seemed like it is too hard for them to generate a goal, but their efforts led to a power play as Beauvillier hooked Pesce.
FINALLY, the Devils bury one on a well executed power play. Something that had been missing from this unit without Jack was motion. Motion creates shooting lanes, which creates rebounds, which creates chaos and goals. Jack and Luke played catch along the left flank, pulling the PKers with them, and Luke was able to find a lane to get a shot through (looked like it hit Noesen in front), the puck landed right on Nico’s stick, who popped it over to Bratt with a wide open net. Even with his shooting woes he wasn’t missing that one.
A little alter in the 2nd – Jack giveth and Jack taketh away. With the period winding down Jack stripped Strome on the right wing boards in the Dzone, but turned up into the slot where he was met with 3 Capitals. It looked like he tried to feather a pass to Luke but Beauvillier picked it off, and it created a mini 3-on-0 for Allen to deal with, and he ripped a shot home under the glove – 2-1 Caps heading to the 3rd.
3rd Period
Since December of 2024, the Devils had not won a game after trailing going into the 3rd, which seemingly replaced our “can’t win 4 in a row” as the team’s current stigma. The past few 3rd periods in this situation had been lackluster at best, and we really needed to see something from his group. And they showed up, first with Bratt potting his second from distance off a relatively innocuous zone entry. He curled up high and with Palat screening a seeing eye writer got through Thompson, and we are tied 2-2 at 7:00 of the 3rd.
Just 32 seconds later, the 3rd line went to work, as Dillon high flipped it out of the zone to a streaking Connor Brown. The puck was a bit behind him and it looked like it was going to be a broken opportunity – but what this line does best is works for their chances. Glass sent it back to the corner where Brown retrieved it, spun quickly and it snuck back through to Glass who sure-handedly buried it. Also shoutout Gritsyuk with the elite sense to let that go through his legs.
Could we do it? could we get that comeback win? Nope. Dougie loses a battle to Ovechkin, who would feed it up to Protas walking up the wall. Not sure why we gave him all the time in the world, but he found Sandin at the point who had all day to walk down broadway, sell shot to Allen and find a wide open Ovechkin back door. Not sure how you leave the ALL TIME LEADING GOAL SCORER ALL ALONE BACK DOOR LIKE THAT.
So it’s off the overtime we go.
Overtime
Well, we secured one point at least. Can we get the second? Nope. The Devils controlled most of the OT period possession, but that was about it – really just possession. No dangerous shots of note. The caps regrouped in the D-zone, and a simple pass the boards to a streaking Chychrun who blew the doors off of Paul Cotter and bullied his way to the front, got a shot and batted the rebound in. 4-3 in OT, another loss in a sinking season.
Some Scattered Thoughts
Just an absolute masterclass by Dougie tonight. On for all 3 goals against tonight, or 4 if you count the disallowed one, looked as slow as he ever has, was all over the place, pinching unnnessearily, floating in the neutral zone. The amount of times I thought to myself “what is Dougie doing there” is hard to count. Played like a guy on his way out.
There defense overall was shaky – 13 high danger chances against, but Jake Allen continues to be fantastic.
I know people will get on Jack for that turnover – and rightfully so – but someone needs to show some fire around here, and it was good to hear he did. He was all over the place this game, and he and Bratt had some dominant shifts, particularly in the second. We don’t get to the power play without him and get back in this game.
Hey we scored more than 1 and got a point, eh? Yay? Ugh.
Let me know your thoughts, are we still trending down? back up? are we just a bad team?
LGD