Devils fall to Canadiens at Prudential Center

Ice Hockey, Featured, New Jersey Devils, Professional

February 23, 2023

The New Jersey Devils (37-15-5) were put to arguably one of the biggest tests of their season as they took on the Montreal Canadiens (24-29-4), who are suffering from many injuries. Conversely, the Devils appear to be serious contenders come the postseason. That said, the challenge for the Devils was to play and utilize all four lines rather than play down to their competition. Heading into the game, Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek was looking to continue his streak in the net against the Canadiens.

On Tuesday night, the Canadiens defeated the Devils 5-2 as the fatigue of the Devils may have gotten the best of them.

In the first period, the Devils came into the game with energy and momentum, which quickly shifted as the game continued. Three minutes into the period, the Devils allowed Canadiens defensemen Justin Barron to score a goal off a rebound, ultimately snapping Vanecek's streak. Late in the period, the Devils began to get more aggressive and had more opportunities to shoot at the Canadiens' goal leading to the Devils' Jesper Bratt scoring his 23rd goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1 with 6:12 remaining in the period. The Devils ended the first period tied at one and headed into the second with a bit of momentum, scoring the last goal of the period.

“Definitely frustrating, but I don’t think we deserved to win today,” Devils forward Nico Hischier stated after the game. “They made it really hard on us, although we had a lot of chances and I feel like they capitalized on their chances more than we did.”

Although they were tied and closed the period with some momentum, the Canadiens ended all momentum for New Jersey at the start of the second period. During the opening three minutes of the secod period, the Canadiens managed to strike first with a goal from defensemen Jonathan Kovacevic. Within a minute of Kovacevic's goal, the New Jersey allowed Canadiens star player Nick Suzuki to score a goal. The swing of the game was too much for the Devils to overcome as they finished the second period trailing, 3-1, to Montreal.

“We don’t feel that way, we feel we’re into any game until that final buzzer rings,” Devils defenseman Damon Severson emphasized when asked about trailing in the game. “That’s our mindset, obviously we’d like t play to with the lead, instead of behind, but thats been our mindset the whole season.”

Lindy Ruff: ‘Rest is a Weapon'

The momentum continued to grow for the Canadiens as they steamrolled into the third period. Five minutes into the period, the Canadiens scored a goal to signify the dagger for the Devils. New Jersey gave up a shot to Canadiens forward Rem Pitlick, who scored his fourth goal of the season. However, the Devils refuse to top fighting and playing.

Midway through the third period, Devils forward Dawson Mercer answered with a goal of his own to give the Devils hope as they were down by two goals, 4-2, with eight minutes remaining in the game. Any sense of hope the Devils had was ripped away when they went all in on an offensive possession to build momentum, and Canadien defensemen stripped away the puck and shot a missile across the ice. Ultimately, this assured the Canadiens victory on the road over the Devils, 5-2.

The Devils are coming off playing five games in eight days and the fatigue appeared to be an issue. With the right amount of rest and preparation, they can play with more energy and physicality on the ice. Devils head coach Lindy Ruff emphasized that rest could be used as a tool in the coming days.

“It looked like fatigue in our game, it looked like the team was flat this morning,” Ruff explained in the post-game conference. “We played a lot of hockey and I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. We need to freshen the team up and focus on the next game.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll have another off day but for right now, we must treat rest as a weapon. We’re just coming off five games in eight days and I think you’ll see this throughout the league,” continued Ruff.

The Devils look to take on the Los Angeles Kings at The Rock on Wednesday night.