On Thursday night, the Eastern Conference and Western Conference clashed against one another. The New Jersey Devils (38-15-5) faced off with the Los Angeles Kings (32-20-7) in a thriller. It seems to be a familiar trend as the Devils continue to get off to slow starts, however they’ve proven to be one of the most resilient teams in the NHL. In fact, they lead all of the NHL in comebacks this season, per sources, and was able to do it again against a talented Kings' team.
“We’re never out of it and we’ve got a talented group in here a team,” Devils C Dawson Mercer stated in the post-game conference. “A team with this amount of speed can create constant pressure and we got so many scoring chances and was glad to see they finally went in at the end of the game.”
Tough Start for the New Jersey Devils
In the first period, the Devils came out with energy and managed to nearly dominate the ice on both sides. Oddly, they couldn’t buy a bounce as they had opportunities throughout the first period to score. Conversely, the Kings manage to take advantage of their opportunities and find great looks against goalie Vitek Vanecek. For a moment, there was a standstill between both Devils and Kings, however Sean Durzi found a hole within the zone and took advantage of it by scoring his seventh goal of the season.
Later in the period, with 8:25 remaining, the Devils allowed a breakaway leaving their goalie extremely vulnerable. This led to a Viktor Arvidsson goal making that his 17th of the season. Ultimately, the Devils while seemingly dominated on the ice, the score represented something different as they trailed, 2-0, heading into the second period.
Momentum Beginning to Shift in the Devil's Favor
Although the Devils were down by two, due to their dominating performance it never appeared they were out of the game. In the second period, the Devils' defense reflected that by being suffocating and relentless throughout the period. Vanecek also appeared to be more locked in and played much better in the net throughout the period. Unfortunately, the Devils still couldn’t find much offensive success for the majority of the period. With five minutes remaining, Tomas Tatar scored his 13th goal o f the season and was assisted by Mercer. Ultimately, this gave them the momentum they needed heading into the final period, 2-1.
“I’m just trying to help the team and I think our line is just in sync,” Tatar happily expressed after the game. "We’re doing a lot of positive stuff out there and I’m glad it showed up in scoring tonight.”
The Turning Point of the Game
Early in the third period, it appeared the Devils found life and weren’t prepared to lose this game. In the opening three minutes, Mercer delivered his 17th goal of the season and tied the game up for the Devils. The majority of the period, the Devils and Kings appeared to be at a stalemate until the remaining five minutes of the game. Naturally, things become more interesting as the game appeared to be signed and sealed for the Kings after their final goal of the game by Durzi who scored his second goal of the game. Initially, this gave the Kings the lead with four minutes remaining, 3-2.
However, the Devils refused to go away and Hischier hit the shot heard around the world. Oddly, with 37.7 seconds remaining, the Devils cleared the goalie out to help obtain another goal to send into overtime. Eventually, this paid off by Hischier nailing the shot on the right wing of the ice to make it, 3-3.
“Overall, it was a good game for us we just didn’t respect the game enough in the beginning,” Devils C Nico Hischier expressed in the post-game interview. “We made to many mistakes, but we stuck with it and overall it felt we had more energy today.”
In overtime, the Devils had all the momentum with the last-minute shot by Hischier. Therefore, this followed into the fourth period and led to a dagger by Mercer. Ultimately, securing the comeback and sealing the win for the Devils, 4-3.
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