Devils Make Senators Pay For Their Sins, New Jersey Wins Eight Straight
WELCOME TO THE GATES OF HELL
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY-
Seven teams have suffered from the scorching heat of Hell. The New Jersey Devils have been hot with a seven-game winning streak. After a 3-2 win on November 8th at the Prudential Center against the Calgary Flames, the Devils win streak continues. The Devils did not play their prettiest game but winning a tight game against the Flames was a plus. The goals scored that night were by Graves, Dougie Hamliton and the clutch shot for the win by no other than the Captain, Nico Hischier.
Thursday night, the Devils looked to continue their winning streak to eight games as they faced another Canadian team, the Ottawa Senators. For the Senators (4-8-0, eighth in the Atlantic Division) it has been a little rough start to the season. There is a lot of outside noise for the team as they prepare to be sold to another potential suitor. Ottawa has a 0-4-0 record in road games so far this season, averaging 5.5 penalties per game, which ranks second in the NHL with 66 penalties. Ottawa’s top performers this season are Brady Tkachuk who has six goals and 10 assists. Prior to this game, Claude Giroux, the newest addition to the Flyers, had six goals and 3 assists in the last 10 games played.
Before the Thursday game, New Jersey’s top performances these past 10 games were Jack Hughes, contributing four goals and eight assists; Jesper Bratt who had five goals and eight assists as well in the 10-game contest.
The Devils in their last 10 games: 9-1-0, averaging 3.9 goals, 6.3 assists, 3.8 penalties and nine penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game.
A SPICY START
The Devils took an early lead in the first period with a Thomas Tatar wrister that was deflected and found its way into the net. The Rock was buzzing early with fans in excitement.
Tatar’s goal was assisted by Jack Hughes and Jonas Siegenthaler. Before the early opening, the Devils’ penalty kill unit stopped Ottawa from two big shots in the dying seconds of their power play.
Brendan Smith headed into the box for the second time for holding and it was costly. Ottawa capitalized on a power play goal, tying the game 1-1 by Shane Pinto. A couple minutes later, Senators took the lead 2-1 from Travis Hamonic with a huge slapper from the point. His goal was assisted by none other than Claude Giroux. A Devils power play was on the horizon, but they failed to convert. It took them a whole minute to find an offensive groove on their power play. The Devils had two huge opportunities in front of the net to sneak them pass Forsberg but just missed them.
Captain Nico Hischier came in with the save three minutes left in the first period. He rushed from the left side to score his seventh goal of the season. His wrister was assisted by Ryan Gaves and Marino
At the end of the first period Devils outshot Ottawa 11-7, but the Senators were ½ on the PP and the Devils were 0/1.
YOU GOT A FRIEND IN ME
After an eventful first period, Miles Woods scored his sixth goal of the season to put the Devils up 3-2 over the senators in the early second period. His goal was assisted by McLeod and Bastian. Senators’ goalie, Forsberg, felt the pressure early in the second. With only 5:30 coming off the clock, the Devils rapidly put up a 10-1 shot on goal difference. Ottawa turned the possession chain for a little bit, keeping the puck momentum into the Devils zone for a good amount of time.
Despite the Senators having a lot of puck possession, the Devils did a fantastic job blocking shots and redirecting them. Vanecek did a phenomenal job up to this point after allowing two early goals in the game.
There was a scary moment after Senators Thomas Chabot ran into Vanecek forcing him face down on the ice. Vanecek stayed in the game, and the Devils began their second power play of the game. The Devils were not able to convert on the power play again. This put the Devils 0/2 on the PP opportunities tonight.
At the end of two periods the Devils held a 3-2 lead against Ottawa. Things finished quietly between both teams in the latter half of the second.
DANCING WITH THE DEVIL
As we entered the third period, the Devils had 32 SOG and Ottawa had 14. Two minutes into the period, Ottawa tacked in a game tying goal early. Shane Pinto rocked one into the net with a fantastic goal, it was his second goal of the game and eighth of the season.
Jack Hughes headed into the box for a goaltender interference at the 3:59 minute mark. Ottawa began their third power play of the night. The Devils PK Unit did a terrific job clearing out the whole way.
Ottawa came up empty on their power play, but they came out with a statement. They were flying everywhere in the early third and looking to make a statement. There was a lot of action along the boards this period, with both teams hitting hard and being aggressive.
At the 10:37 mark, Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek left the game and headed into the locker room. Akira Schmid entered the game for the Devils now in the third.
The Devils had a lot of opportunities to open themselves up and take the lead right back but were missing their mark on Forsberg.
At the end of the third, the Devils finished tied 3-3. They out-shot Ottawa 39 to 22. Next, they headed to sudden death 3 on 3 five-minute overtime.
OT THRILLER
With 3:37 left in OT Marino headed into the box for a two-minute penalty for slashing. Ottawa had a 4 on 3 advantage. Schmid made a huge butterfly save on his left side with 2:38 left in OT play. The Devils PK Unit stepped up in crucial moments to stop Ottawa’s fourth power play of the night.
Hughes tripped up with 39.8 seconds left. The Devils had the 4 on 3-man advantage. Dougie Hamilton ripped a heater that deflected off Nico Hischier to score the game winner in OT on the power play to get past a frustrated Forsberg.
New Jersey recorded three consecutive come-from-behind victories in the 1993-94 season, 1999-00 season, and now this year. Each of these years, the Devils advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Devils made it eight in a row to keep the winning streak moving and now move to 11-3 on the season and first in the Metro. Next, they will be hosting the Coyotes of Arizona at The Rock on November 12 Saturday for a 7pm puck drop