Devils Shutout by Flames | GAME STORY

CALGARY, AB - From a high-scoring affair in Vancouver to a low-scoring night in Calgary, the New Jersey Devils were held off the board against the Flames on Friday night.

The Calgary Flames scored two goals in 28 seconds, with just minutes left in the game to take a 2-0 lead on the Devils. Former Devil Blake Coleman scored the game's first goal at 14:26 of the third, and Jonathan Huberdeau scored at 14:54, quickly turning the game on its head.

Coleman added his second goal, an empty-netter, at 16:41, solidifying a 3-0 loss for New Jersey.

"They were tight, kudos to them," Brett Pesce said postgame. "They don’t give you much room, and teams like that, you’ve got to put pucks behind them, and I don’t think we did a great job of that.”

The Devils were shut out for the first time this season and managed just 22 shots on goal to match their lowest season total.

“I have to be honest, I don’t think we had our best," Pesce continued. "We kind of could tell our legs were a little off. But we were in it, we were in it. I got up a little too high on that first goal; their D-man shot it; it was a redirect. We knew it was going to be something like that; we were hoping it was going to be us, but you know, we’ve got to find a way to win those games.”

Here are some observations from the game:

• In defense of Paul Cotter, who was caught with a late hit by Lomberg, Nathan Bastian jumped in to defend his teammate, who was lying on the ice. Bastian jumping in resulted in a fight between him and Lomberg before the Devils forward was handed an instigator penalty, 10-minute misconduct, and a fighting major.

Just as Bastian did for Cotter, the Devils penalty kill went to work and defending against the Calgary power play, conceding just a single shot on net to the Flames.

Bastian, who caught several blows to the jaw from Lomberg was unable to return to play.

• It looked a little difficult to get much flow on either side of the benches. The ref's whistle was busy. Halfway through the game, there had already been 37 faceoffs taken. By games end, Nico Hischier had taken, once again, the majority of the teams faceoffs, going 14-for-30.

• Jacob Markstrom returned to the Saddledome for the first time since being traded over the summer from the Glames to the Devils. Markstrom spent four seasons playing in Calgary, ranks fifth all-time in games played, and wins for a Flames goaltender. He played 213 games for Calgary with 105 wins, 78 losses, and 25 overtime losses.

“I wanted to come out of here with two points, but it is what it is,” Markstrom said after the loss.

He made 29 saves on 31 shots, including four on the power play and one shorthanded.

• Two of the best chances of the game came off of Jack Hughes' stick, once on a breakaway, stopped by Vladar, just after Calgary's Yegor Sharangovich fired the puck off Markstrom's far post. The second time, in the second period for Hughes, with a Calgary Flame on his trail, got the shot off on Vladar and through his pads, but the puck ultimately traveled wide of the net.

• Dawson Mercer had a couple of moments of frustration with missed opportunities and returned to the bench, slamming his stick and the bench door shut. He went to sit down in his spot next to Jack Hughes, who you would see take a second to talk to and calm his teammate down, and Mercer was shaking his head in clear disappointment with himself.

• There were a lot of familiar faces for the Devils on the other side of the ice. For Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt, who are the longest-tenured Devils in the lineup, they have played with four different members of the Flames that were in the lineup tonight, Kevin Bahl being the most recent. Also dressed for Calgary were Yegor Sharangovich, Blake Coleman, and Kevin Rooney.