GAME DAY
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Full Highlights
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Downed by Jets
INTERVIEWS:
Hischier
|
Severson
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Head Coach Lindy Ruff
WHAT'S NEXT
The Devils return home where they play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. The game can be seen on MSGSN and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
Connor Hellebuyck made a nice stop four minutes into the game as Jesper Bratt redirected a cross-ice feed from Damon Severson but the Winnipeg Jets goaltender was at the top of the crease challenging and turned the puck away.
Hellebuyck stopped 31 of 32 on the night but Ruff said that the team didn't do enough to make his night difficult.
"I don't think we really challenged him. He didn't make any mistakes but we didn't challenge him. We didn't get enough traffic, enough second opportunities. You have to give him credit, he made no mistakes," he said.
Less than a minute later, the Jets struck for the game's first goal. Nikolaj Ehlers was stationed at the top of the crease and redirected a pass from Blake Wheeler by Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek.
The first power play of the game went to the Devils after Dylan Samberg was called for holding midway through the first.
Jets were able to kill that one off and then had a man advantage of their own with 5:55 to go in the opening frame. Erik Haula was called for tripping.
Ten seconds after the penalty expired, Winnipeg struck to take a two-goal lead. Nino Niederreiter crashed the net and banged home a Wheeler rebound.
With 23.5 seconds to go in the first, Jonas Siegenthaler got called for high-sticking.
Shots on goal after one were 13-7 for Winnipeg.
Early in the third, Damon Severson held up Morgan Barron on a breakaway resulting in a penalty shot given to the Jets winger. On the ensuing penalty shot, Barron fired the puck five-hole past Vanecek to make it 3-0.
"I was just trying to avoid him making a shot, simple as that," said Severson.
Winnipeg extended its lead to 4-0 when Kyle Connor's shot from the slot beat Vanecek blocker side.
After two, shots on goal were even at 21-21.
Mackenzie Blackwood replaced Vanecek in goal to start the third.
With 9:41 to go in the final frame, Pierre-Luc Dubois ripped a shot from the right circle past Blackwood to make it a 5-0 game.
Winnipeg made it 6-0 with 5:50 remaining. Mark Scheifele fed Ehlers at the left circle for a one-timer with seven seconds remaining in a penalty to Meier.
Devils added a power play goal with 13.9 seconds to play, making it a 6-1 final. Hughes found Hischier in front and he put the puck in on a second effort.
Final shot count in the game was 32-27 for the Devils.
"They wanted it more," said Hischier. "They outbattled us tonight. We had our chances, for sure, but if you give up six goals you're not winning a hockey game."
Here are some observations from the game...
- Devils heading into this game were a league best 9-2-0 in the second half of back-to-backs but tonight's loss saw them fall to 9-3-0. This was the 12th and final back-to-back set of the season for New Jersey.
- In an effort to spark his team, Lindy Ruff did some shuffling of lines in the second period. He had Timo Meier with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes centering Dawson Mercer and Yegor Sharangovich, Ondrej Palat with Tomas Tatar and Erik Haula and Jesper Boqvist with Michael McLeod and Miles Wood.
- The Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs are the only teams in the NHL to not be shut out this year. The Devils have scored one goal in a game ten times this season, potting more than one on 67 occasions.
- Going into the game, Vitek Vanecek had never lost to the Jets (2-0-0). Mackenzie Blackwood is also 2-0-0 in career decisions against Winnipeg, though he has now appeared in five games against them.
