Devils drop game one of road trip to Flames, 9-4

Devils head coach John Hynes called the Western Canada road trip "one of the harder trips that you take."

And the young New Jersey Devils found out the hard way with their stop in Calgary.
In the opening 1:01 of the third period, the game turned on its head for the Devils who gave up two quick goals, including a penalty shot goal to star Johnny Gaudreau, goals on which the Flames took a 6-4 lead and begin a six-goal third period.
Gaudreau would complete a hat trick for Calgary and seal New Jersey's fate - a 9-4 loss on Tuesday night.
Here are 10 takeaways from the game:
1. The rotation between goaltenders continues in this latter half of the season, with Mackenzie Blackwood in net to take on the Calgary Flames for the second time in less than two weeks. He entered the game with a 1.71 goals-against average and .950 save percentage in his past three starts. Against the Flames Blackwood had one of his more difficult nights of his early NHL career, giving up nine goals on 38 shots.
2. Blake Coleman is officially a 20-goal scorer. His 20th of the season came after he sprung himself on a breakaway with a blocked shot in the defensive zone when Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie tried to send the puck in deep. That propelled both he and Kyle Palmieri on a 2-on-0. Flames defenseman Mark Giordano caught up with Palmieri, leaving Coleman no other option but to take the shot. Coleman faked the forehand, then switched to the backhand in close to beat Rittich and score unassisted goal on his 20th of the year.
Tweet from @NJDevils: That backhand though 😍 pic.twitter.com/G5CqLfA5by
Coleman's goal tied the game at one after Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau opened the scoring at the 5:05 mark.
3. Coleman's goal snapped a streak of sorts for Devils netminder Mackenzie Blackwood. In his prior two starts for New Jersey, the Devils had been shut out by their opponents. When Coleman lit the lamp at the 16:03 mark of the first period, it ended a streak of 139:16 without goal support for Blackwood.
4. Though Palmieri was caught up on Coleman's goal, he'd be free just over two minutes later to capitalize on an opportunity in front of the net. Palmieri used his hockey smarts to skate right in front of Rittich as Damon Severson took a shot from near the top of the circle to redirect it home for a 2-1 lead.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Palms with the redirect 🙌 pic.twitter.com/gwzrH3PqOC
The goal was Palmieri's 27th of the season and 49th point on the year. He inches closer to tying his career-high of 30 goals set back in the 2015-16 season, his debut season with New Jersey.
5. Severson's assist on Palmieri's goal was the 100th of his NHL career and scored in his 349th NHL game. He joins Scott Niedermayer (124), Brian Rafalski (165), Paul Martin (111) and Viacheslav Fetisov (111) as the only defensemen to record 100 assists before their 350th game with New Jersey.
6. Early in the second, Will Butcher fed Kenny Agostino through the center of the neutral zone, and with the Flames defense split the former Flame had plenty of time through the slot to go one-on-one with the Calgary netminder. Choosing to go high-glove side, Agostino lit the lap to give the Devils a 3-1 lead just 54 seconds into the middle frame.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Agostino ������ glove side 😱 pic.twitter.com/Ryity9n9zA
Agostino scores against the team he started his NHL career with, he played eight games with Calgary in the 2013-14 NHL season and another two in the 2015-16 season before heading to St. Louis.
7. With Stefan Noesen in the box for slashing late in the second period, the Devils defended against the Flames to keep the score tied at three. Low and behold, Travis Zajac and Blake Coleman had other plans. Two of the Devils top penalty killers managed to create an odd-man rush while shorthanded. Coleman took the puck down the left side, made a cross-ice pass to Zajac on the right, who went high-glove side on Rittich to beat him cleanly, a near identical goal to that of Agostino's.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Zajac with a laser 🤩 pic.twitter.com/jDhkjlBZHG
The goal was Zajac's second shorthanded goal of the season and his 16th goal of the year. He reaches the 40-point mark this season in his 68th game played. He breaks 40 for the first time since 2016-17 when he had 45 points in 80 games.
8. Coleman had the lone assist on Zajac's shorthanded goal to complete a multi-point night of a goal and an assist. The 27-year-old now has his ninth career multi-point game and with his fifth this season.
9. Stefan Noesen was back in the lineup for New Jersey after he sat out the Devils last game with an upper-body injury against the Rangers. Noesen lined up alongside Blake Pietila and Nick Lappin on the fourth line.
10. The Devils were once again without forward Miles Wood in their lineup. Though he is on the trip with New Jersey, he is not yet recovered from his lower-body injury that has kept him out since February 25th against Montreal. Wood practiced after the team's morning skate and is considered the closest of the Devils injured players to be able to return to the lineup. Coach John Hynes says there is a possibility he returns before the end of this current road trip.