Coming off of an 8-4 loss in Colorado on Tuesday, there was a lot of internal talk from the New Jersey Devils about how important tonight’s game was in San Jose for the group. Unfortunately for the Devils, they found themselves flat-footed out of the gate against a speedy San Jose Sharks team, and as a result, have dropped back-to-back games for the first time all season
FIRST PERIOD
The Devils needed a hot start out of the gate in San Jose, but that didn’t happen. Jonas Siegenthaler got caught in transition, and William Eklund torched him with the puck before beating Jake Allen five-hole on the clear break. For the second time in six days, Eklund broke the seal early in Devils–Sharks action.
The Devils looked sloppy in the first period, committing a too-many-men penalty that sent San Jose to its first power play. However, a Will Smith trip canceled out the Sharks’ advantage. The sloppiness continued for the Diablos, as a failed clearance attempt by Simon Nemec eventually resulted in a Philipp Kurashev goal to make it 2–0 San Jose.
Three minutes later, Alex Wennberg deflected home a shot from the boards by Mario Ferraro, and for the second straight game, the Devils found themselves down 3–0 — arguably the worst period they had played in this young season.
However, there was a glimmer of hope at the end of the frame, as Dawson Mercer tipped home a pretty pass from Jack Hughes on the power play, cutting the Sharks’ lead to 3–1 after 20 minutes, with San Jose outshooting New Jersey 15–9 in the period.
Second Period
The Devils came out strong in the second period but couldn’t solve Alex Nedeljkovic over the course of the middle frame. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt dominated their ice time, though Ondrej Palat had immense trouble converting the chances his two linemates created. Eventually, the dam broke. Late in the second, Will Smith beat Jake Allen with a wrist shot to make it 4–1, and a Tyler Toffoli deflection goal followed soon after. San Jose took a commanding 5–1 lead into the break, with shots in the second period 13 apiece for each squad.
Third Period
Looking for life, the Devils converted on another power play, and again it was on a Dawson Mercer deflection, as he tipped home a Dougie Hamilton bomb for his second PPG of the game. The Devils pushed for a third goal, but could not get any closer. Alas, the Devils will end October with a record of 8-3-0, and will head to Southern California for this weekend.
