Preseason Game #3 Recap: 5-3 Loss to the Washington Capitals

The Result: The New Jersey Devils lost a 5-3 game to the Washington Capitals.

The Game Stats:

Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

NHL.com Game Summary

NHL.com Event Summary

NHL.com Full Play-By-Play

NHL.com Shot Summary

The Game Highlights:

NHL.com Video Recap

Lines and Pairings

In their third preseason game, head coach Sheldon Keefe played most of his starting forwards. The 5-on-5 lines for tonight’s matchup were as follows:

Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Timo Meier

Tomas Tatar – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer

Ondrej Palat – Justin Dowling – Stefan Noesen

Kurtis Macdermid – Xavier Parent – Chase Stillman

On the defensive side, Keefe paired veterans Brenden Dillon and Dougie Hamilton, while giving the younger defensemen plenty of playing time. Daniil Misyul played the majority of the game with Seamus Casey. Nick DeSimone was paired with Colton White.

First Period

New Capital Logan Thompson got the start against Jacob Markstrom and both goaltenders played well in the first frame. The line of Bratt-Hughes-Meier started quickly with Meier getting a good snap shot on net just 18 seconds into the game. Thompson made a quality save as he did on another shot from Ondrej Palat a couple minutes later. The Devils jumped on the scoreboard first when a one-timed slapshot from Brenden Dillon at the point beat Thompson. Stefan Noesen provided the distraction in front of the net and looked like he may have even gotten a stick on the shot.

See the goal here.

Markstrom made his fair share of solid saves as well. One particularly good save came with 10:39 left in the first period. Capitals’ center Michael Sgarbossa slid the puck to Alex Limoges at the doorstep, but Markstrom got across in time to make the stop. Markstrom made another good save on Dylan McIlrath with lots of traffic in front with just over two minutes left in the period.

While I wasn’t particularly impressed with the play of any of the young defensemen in the first period, I wasn’t bothered by their play either. There was some sloppy play in the defensive zone that led to pucks in front of the Devils’ net, but Markstrom was up to the challenge. Seamus Casey did show off his handles and was able to get some pucks toward the net front throughout the game.

The first period ended with the Devils up 1-0.

Second Period

I don’t know what happened in the locker room, but the Devils came out of the intermission looking slow and sloppy. Right from the puck drop, the Capitals were able to put sustained pressure on the Devils it never got any better. Jacob Markstrom did the best he could under the onslaught. Around the 16:30 mark of the period, Markstrom appeared to stop a point blank Capitals’ shot and he made another good save on newly acquired Capital Andrew Mangiapane from close range with just over 11 minutes left in the period.

From my count, the Devils had about two decent shifts in the second period. One of the two came with just over eight minutes left in the period when Nico Hischier tried to pass the puck to Tomas Tatar for a good scoring chance, but Tatar couldn’t quite get a handle on the puck. On the next shift, Jack Hughes and Timo Meier were able to link up for another scoring opportunity, but again, Meier was unable to bury the puck. From the Devils’ perspective, that was about it for the second period.

The Capitals were finally able to beat Markstrom with just over five minutes remaining in the second period. John Carlson connected with Alex Limoges on a nice give and go passing play, allowing Carlson to walk into the slot and rip a shot past Markstrom. About four minutes later, the flood gates opened, and the Capitals scored twice within a minute. On the Capitals’ second goal, Dylan Strome camped behind the Devils’ defensemen and caught a homerun pass for a breakaway. Twenty-seven seconds later, Brandon Duhaime caught a centering pass in front and was able to get enough on it to beat Markstrom.

Markstrom did not have much of a chance on any of the three goals allowed in the second period. The Devils supposedly recorded six shots in the second frame, but it certainly didn’t feel like they had that many. The Capitals applied most of the pressure and the period ended with the Capitals up 3-1.

One item to note, on his last shift of the second period it appeared that Jack Hughes was knocked down awkwardly following some incidental contact. Hughes skated straight to the bench but would return for his first shift in the third, which was a sigh of relief for Devils’ fans.

Third Period

The third period started much like the second. With the exception of a couple of shifts, the Devils appeared to be out of gas. About six minutes into the third period the Devils received a power play opportunity when Alexander Suzdalev was sent off for a trip. Head coach Sheldon Keefe sent out the combination of Dougie Hamilton, Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jesper Bratt. The power play unit had sustained pressure, keeping the Capitals hemmed up in their defensive zone for almost the entire two minutes, but were unable to beat Logan Thompson. The Devils’ power play unit was forced to the perimeter and unable to connect between the circles.

The Devils’ power play got another opportunity with just over nine minutes left to go in the game when Nic Dowd was also called for a trip. Keefe sent the same unit out to begin the power play, but it was Ondrej Palat and Stefan Noesen who provided the best scoring chance. Palat sent a tip opportunity to Noesen camped in front, but Thompson was able make a very good save.

The Devils’ lack of success on the power play would come back to haunt them when the Capitals’ Dylan Strome snuck behind the Devils’ defense yet again to tip home a backdoor pass from John Carlson on the doorstep. 4-1. Not good.

With about five minutes to go in the game, the Devils began to play with a sense of urgency and get more traffic in front of the net. The push began with Nico Hischier tipping home a Brenden Dillon shot from the point to make it 4-2. See the goal here. With just over four minutes to go in the game, the Devils pulled their goaltender. In the ensuing 6-on-5, Jack Hughes wired a wrist shot through heavy traffic to make things interesting at 4-3. See the goal here.

The Devils’ push proved to be too little too late and an empty net goal by Brandon Duhaime iced the 5-3 victory for the Capitals.

What Not to Like

The speed and rust. The Devils looked slow in the second period and most of the third. I expect some rust to start the year, but the regular season is coming quickly.

The puck play in the defensive zone. I realize that with the exception of Dougie Hamilton and Brenden Dillon, the defensemen that played were young. That being said with Luke Hughes out and Brett Pesce still recovering, the Devils will depend on the defensive depth to start the year. Yes, Jonas Siegenthaler and Johnathan Kovacevic will help, but I would still like to see better puck movement in the defensive zone.

The lack of traffic in front of the opposing net. We saw this last year, but too often the Devils can be forced to the perimeter in the offensive zone. I’d like to see more of a net front presence and that appeared to come from Hischier, Noesen, and Palat. When there was traffic in front of the opposing net, the Devils scored.

What to Like

Dawson Mercer. I was particularly interested to see how Dawson Mercer was skating after missing the first two preseason games. It was nice to see Mercer being Mercer. Skating hard and battling in the corners.

The potential. The talent is clearly there. The top two lines played well in the first period and I liked the combination of Palat and Noesen. Markstrom played well again.

Seamus Casey’s handles. While the Devils’ younger defensemen who played tonight did not necessarily impress, Casey clearly showed that he can handle the puck well, particularly in the offensive zone. He looked comfortable quarterbacking play with the extra attacker late in the third and provided an assist on Jack Hughes’ goal.

Your Thoughts

What did you like in tonight’s game? What did you not like? What should the Devils do differently? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Thank you for reading and GO DEVILS!