Here are some observations from the game:
• The Devils got a jolt of life in the game with the return of Jack Hughes. He missed the past 11 games and hadn’t played since Jan. 5.
Hughes made an immediate impact and his line with Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Holtz had a lot of jump. They created a lot of great scoring chances, were hard to handle and dominated the offensive zone at times.
They did everything, but score. Unfortunately.
• The Devils had a power play with under six minutes to play and trailing 4-3. It was their best chance to get even, but the man-advantage failed.
• On Tuesday against Colorado, Bratt scored on a rush play with Hischier on a 2-on-1. This time around it was once again a 2-on-1, but now it was Bratt delivering a pass to Ondrej Palat for a goal.
The play began in the Devils defensive zone. Simon Nemec forced a turnover on Andrew Mangiapane. Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin had pinched in on the play. The puck found its way to Hischier while Bratt and Palat immediately read counter attack. Bratt used a nifty leg kick to sell shot before passing across to Palat, who buried the quick snap shot.
• Bratt’s effort helped the Devils earn a shorthanded goal. He pressured Kuzmenko at the point. Bratt muscled him and then knocked the puck ahead to a racing Hischier. He carried for a breakaway and went six-hole for the tally.
• Speaking of Bratt and his shorthanded play, he's really become a threat on the PK. He only started working on the unit this season and has really blossomed both as a PKer and as an offensive threat on the PK.
• Bratt extended his point streak to six games. He has four goals and five assists for nine points in those six game.
• The Devils killed a four-minute double high sticking minor to Erik Haula in the third period. It was a critical kill at a critical time with the Devils trailing 3-1 at the time. Not only did New Jersey kill off both, it scored a shorthanded goal to make it a 3-2 game. Curtis Lazar’s effort, pursuit and clears stood out. And Vanecek made a couple big saves, including a big one on former Devil Yegor Sharangovich.
• The Devils were the victims of a few fluke goals against in their game against Calgary. Backlund’s goal came from around the goal line when the puck banked off the elbow of Vanecek. The second goal came from a shot by Nazim Kadri that squeezed through Vanecek. The puck died in the ice and none of the Devils, including Vanecek, had realized. The only player to notice was Calgary’s Connor Zary, who pounced quickly to tuck it over the goal line.
• The Devils have a propensity to surrender goals to former members of the club. This time around it was Kevin Rooney, who banged in a puck from right in the crease. It was his first NHL goal since Dec. 7, 2021.
