Devils Fall in Homestand Finale to Flames | GAME STORY

Calgary scored four goals in the game's opening 13 minutes and cruised to a 5-3 victory against the Devils Tuesday night at Prudential Center.
Milan Lucic, Andrew Mangiapane (2) and Elias Lindholm tallied for Calgary in the opening period with Matthew Tkachuk adding a power-play goal in the third period.
The Devils' goals came from Pavel Zacha (2) and rookie Dawson Mercer. Zacha, Mercer and Dougie Hamilton each finished with two points.
"Coming out the way we did, we're not going to win hockey games like that," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "We lost wall battles. Our 50-50 battles weren't good.
"A lot of our pain was self inflicted. Their will was just greater than ours. Let's call it what it was."
New Jersey finished its season-opening five-game homestand with a 3-2 record, netting six of 10 points in the process.

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The Devils hit the road for the first time this season with a showdown in Pittsburgh on Saturday night. The game can be seen on MSG+ and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
Here are some observations from the game...
- Intensity (or lack thereof) and miscues were the downfall for New Jersey in a lopsided loss.

Starting with the former, there's no mystery about how Calgary wants to play. The Flames are going to try to outwork you, outhit, out hustle you. It's the Flames' intensity that has led to their early-season success. And the Devils knew it was coming.

"For us, we'll have to be ready to compete tonight," defenseman Ty Smith said after today's morning skate. "They're a team that competes. We have to match that and maybe bring a little bit more."

The Devils did not bring a little more. And they did not match that intensity. From the drop of the puck, they were on their heels and in a survival mode as Calgary applied constant pressure in the first period.

And then the miscues hurt them. Mercer misses his assignment on Milan Lucic: 1-0. Jonas Siegenthaler whiffs on a pass at his own blue line and gets out-muscled into the slot by Andrew Mangiapane: 2-0. P.K. Subban takes a tripping penalty in the offensive zone that leads to a Flames power play: 3-0. Jesper Bratt loses an edge, and the puck, at the blue line in the offensive zone that leads to a Mangiapane breakaway: 4-0.

"There was no scheme," Ruff said. "They got pucks in deep, they came at us. You either win your battle, execute, or they win the battle. You saw one shift we were stuck in our zone for 30 seconds. They got to every battle before we did and their puck play was quicker. There was no secret to it for me.

"They were just better in all areas than we were to start the game."

The Devils mounted a valiant comeback attempt, but they fell into way too deep of a hole at the start to dig themselves out.

"It was a bad start," Zacha said. "We didn't compete on the first couple of shifts, and teams like that can convert goals. We left our goalie without any help on a couple goals. It's something we have to work on and get rid of to be better for next game."

- It was a tough go for rookie goalie Nico Daws, starting in just his second career NHL game. Certainly, it's not his fault for the play of the guys in front of him during the opening 12:10 of the game, which saw the 20-year-old surrender three goals before being supplanted by Scott Wedgewood.

Things didn't improve immediately, as Wedgewood gave up a breakaway goal to Mangiapane just 46 seconds later. BUT…after that Wedgewood really settled in. He was certainly tested, especially in the second period. It wasn't always pretty, as one sequence saw a scrambling Wedgewood lose his stick and miss on three dive attempts to cover a puck. But he, and his teammates, managed to somehow keep the puck out of the net. He was the band that stopped the bleeding.

"You can't criticize (Daws) tonight," Ruff said. "I thought (Wedgewood) played well. He gave us exactly what we needed. He made a couple key saves for us and settled things down. It was as good as you could ask for somebody stepping in."

- New Jersey no doubt played its best hockey of the night in the third period. For the first time all game the Devils were assertive in the offensive zone, established zone time, created shots and scoring opportunities. An increased effort by the Devils combined with Calgary sitting back with a hefty lead contributed to the result.

Mercer picked up a nice goal on a nifty breakaway chance and Zacha added his second of the night on the power play. The team showed no quit. It was too little too late, but it's at least something for the Devils to build upon.

"Every goal you get, they all count," Mercer said. "As long as they go up on the scoreboard, that's all that matters for us.

"I was happy I finished that one off."

- The Devils used a little luck, and a little effort, to net their first goal of the game in the second period. Flames goalie Dan Vladar misplayed a puck out of his crease while under pressure from a hustling Nico Hischier. Vladar turned it over to Zacha and couldn't get back to his post before Zacha hit the netting. A nice try by Sean Monahan to play goalkeeper, but it didn't work out well for him or Vladar. - Jesper Bratt has had some meetings with coaches in an effort to improve his play on the season. But after the first period, it was time for some tough love. Bratt watched the entire second period from the bench. At that juncture he was a minus-2 in 4:55 minutes of play. Bratt returned for the third period and on his first shift he recorded a takeaway and nearly scored on a wraparound attempt. He certainly had more jump in his game in the final period.

Bratt wasn't the only player who saw an ice time reduction. Yegor Sharangovich was given just three shifts in the second period. He was back in the third period and also looked a little more juiced. On two occasions he snapped off shots with his wicked release. That's what the team wants to see more of from him.

"I just didn't like their compete," Ruff said of Bratt and Sharangovich. "I didn't think some of the wall compete and being ready to play was there. They weren't the only two, but we needed enough to have three lines. ... When you don't play for a period, you know a message is being sent. I thought the compete was better after that, but the compete has to got to start at the start of the game. It can't start after you've missed part of the game."