The New Jersey Devils dropped their Saturday night game versus the Boston Bruins by a final score of 5-2. Nico Hischier and Luke Hughes scored for New Jersey, while Jake DeBrusk, David Pastrnak (2), and Kevin Shattenkirk (2) found the back of the net for Boston.
The Devils scored the game's opening goal for the tenth time this season. Bruins defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was called for a high-sticking penalty 5:57 into the opening period. It took five seconds for New Jersey to score the game's opening goal. Hischier celebrated his eighth goal of the season with Tyler Toffoli and Jack Hughes collecting the assists.
"Simple setup from the faceoff, that's what we want to do," Hischier said during an intermission interview with MSGN. "We executed, and it ended up in the back of the net."
Devils' goaltender Vitek Vanecek had a solid first period, making 13 saves. With under five minutes remaining, Boston hemmed New Jersey in their zone for a little over two minutes. Vanecek stood tall and even made an impressive save without his stick.
The Devils entered the first intermission with a 1-0 lead over the Bruins.
Early in the second period, Luke Hughes extended his team's lead to two as his wrist shot got past Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark a little over a minute into play. Toffoli collected his second assist of the night, and Jesper Bratt tallied his 29th assist of the season.
Debrusk gave his team life when he scored his fifth goal of the season a few minutes later. After that, it was all Boston as New Jersey's opponent scored four unanswered goals.
The Devils entered the second intermission down 4-2.
New Jersey played most of the third period with 11 forwards, as Timo Meier played one shift (16 seconds) before heading down the tunnel to New Jersey's locker room. Alexander Holtz was bumped up to play the final frame with Michael McLeod and Dawson Mercer.
The Devils outshot Boston 18-8 in the third period, but Ullmark stood tall, playing a perfect 20 minutes. Shattenkirk scored his second of the game on the power play, sealing his team's victory.
"We tried," head coach Lindy Ruff said of his team's response in the third period. "I thought (Boston) did a good job keeping us to the outside. We had a couple of inside looks and didn't take advantage. We were hoping to get the goalie out but took a late penalty."
Five Things
1. Meier Unable to Finish the Game
Meier played 12:30 versus Boston and was credited with one shot on goal. He came out with his team to start the third period but could not finish the game. Afterward, Ruff said," (He is) being evaluated. We will see when we get back to New Jersey."
2. Losing Battles in the Middle Frame
While most would blame New Jersey's goaltender for the team's crushing loss to close out the 2023 calendar year, two Devils players focused on another aspect of their game when they met with the media for their postgame availability.
"I thought in the second we lost a lot of battles," Erik Haula said. "They were hungrier on the forecheck, they were on our (defensemen), we weren't breaking the puck out, and we got hemmed, and that way they got some opportunities, and they capitalized."
Hischier agreed with the veteran.
"This cannot happen, and I think in the second period, a lot came down to winning our battles," he said.
3. Lack of Consistency Once Again Hurts New Jersey
The Devils lost this game in the second period.
Loss of battles, defensive lapses, and breakdowns, coupled with some inconsistent goaltending, led to multiple opportunities that Boston cashed in on. Consistency has been one of the team's Achilles' heel, and tonight was another example of that.
4. Luke Hughes Extends Goal Streak to Three
Luke Hughes had scored a goal in three straight games for New Jersey. Per Devils PR, the streak is the longest stretch that rookie defenseman earned in team history since the 1982-83 season.
5. Tyler Toffoli Earned 250th Career Assist
The 31-year-old earned the primary assist on Hischier's power-play goal. It marked his 250th career assist. With his assist on Luke Hughes' goal, Toffoli earned his seventh multi-point game of the season.