The Devils began their three-day road trip after an unfortunate 5-2 loss at home against the Ottawa Senators that had broken their two-game win streak. However, New Jersey did not disappoint when they made an outstanding comeback on Sunday against the New York Islanders at the UBS Arena. The Devils shutout the Islanders 4-0, starting off their road trip strong, and can hopefully end it off on a high note before heading back home to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who they had beaten previously with a 5-2 score.
Devils lineup against the Islanders:
Meier - Hischier - Bratt
Hughes - Haula - Holtz
Palat - Nosek - Mercer
Willman - Tierney
Bahl - Marino
Hughes - DeSimone
Smith - Nemec
Hatakka
Kahkonen
Poulter
Islanders lineup against the Devils:
Nelson - Horvat - Palmieri
Lee - Barzal - Fasching
Engvall - Pageau - Holmstrom
MacLean - Cizikas - Clutterbuck
Pelech - Dobson
Romanov - Bortuzzo
Reilly - Pulock
Sorokin
Varlamov
The first 20 minutes had been scoreless, and the Devils and Islanders headed into the second period where New Jersey hunted down three goals. In the final frame, the Devils finished off with an empty-net goal for the 4-0 final for Kaapo Kahkonen's first shutout of the season.
Only 38 seconds into the second, Timo Meier recorded his 23rd goal of the season and his fourth in the past four games to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead. During a 5-on-3 power play, he tapped in a pass from Jack Hughes at the right post. Hughes scored his 24th of the season and his third in the past three games not long after Meier's goal. The play began after Kyle Palmieri and Bo Horvat had collided against each other, Horvat had also run into Noah Dobson inside New York's blue line... Hughes beat Ilya Sorokin blocker side on a 3-on-1 rush from the right circle. At 13:48, Alexander Holtz extended the Devils' lead to 3-0. Simone Nemec robbed the puck from between Anders Lee's skates and then found Holtz from below the right face-off circle, who went on to finish Nemec's pass in the slow slot.
Chris Tierney struck the empty net at 4:09 of the third period for the 4-0 final. It had been his third goal of the season.
Timo Meier on the dirty hit by Anders Lee, execution, and what sparked them to score: "Pretty clear hit, it's a dirty hit, and then I stepped in to kind of let him know," - "I thought it was good. I think overall, we played a solid game... Kaapo made unbelievable saves as well for us... If we play that way, we're confident that we can win any game - Just knowing we can come out and be on a two-man advantage. It's obviously nice to get a goal there, kind of jump-start the period for us like that, and then follow it up. I thought after that, we played a solid game. We broke out really well, which made it tough for them to forecheck, and like I said before, the game execution is going to be key. I thought we did a good job of that."
Kaapo Kahkonen on staying calm in the net to help the team to their first shutout of the season and desperation at this time of the year: "I felt good all night, and I think it's important for the goalie to stay calm - that gives the guys confidence when you see somebody that's calm in there but still sharp, and that's what I'm trying to be every night. I paid off tonight, it was a good team effort," - "We're at that point of the year where every game matters really a lot and obviously against the team we're kind of chasing that's right ahead of us. It's a huge, massive win."
Notes:
- Both Jack Hughes and Timo Meier had a goal and an assist. Kaapo Kahkonen made a total of 36 saves for New Jersey and for his first shutout of the season... It had also been his first win with the Devils in his third game since being acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on March 8th.
Hughes played in his 300th NHL career game, and Alexander Holtz played in his 100th NHL career game.
- Curtis Lazar had been out due to a lower-body injury he sustained in the game on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators.
- Kurtis MacDermid had been out, not on the ice for warmups... New Jersey played 11-7 against the New York Islanders.
- Nico Hischier left in the second period after a kneeing by Anders Lee and then made a return to start in the third period.
- Ilya Sorokin made a total of 26 saves for New York. Sorokin has lost his past six starts.
- The New York Islanders have been shut out seven times this season, as well as three times in their past eight games.
- The New York Islanders are four points behind the Washington Capitals for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Devils are five points behind Washington.
- The Devils are 3-9-1 in the second game of a back-to-back, and the NY Islanders are 0-6-3.
*All photos used by the New Jersey Devils used with permission*
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