The New Jersey Devils picked up at least a point in their sixth consecutive game, though they didn't get the result they were looking for as they suffered their first home loss of the season.
The Devils came out and played a pretty mediocre first period. Both the Devils and Islanders exchanged a couple good chances in the first 20 minutes but it was New York that got on the board first, thanks to a power play goal by John Tavares.
New Jersey came out flat in their first couple shifts of the 2nd period and it burned them as Marek Zidlicky took a penalty 1:21 into the period. A little over a minute into the power play Keith Aucoin scored his 4th of the season and gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead.
The Islanders power play goal seemed to serve as a bit of a wakeup call to the Devils as the very next shift Steve Bernier scored to bring the Devils within one and get the fans back into the game.
A few minutes later Ryan Carter scored and picked up his second point in as many shifts to tie things up for the Devils.
John Tavares wasn't going to give the Devils a chance to take their first lead of the game, though, as he scored his 2nd of the game and gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead just over a minute after the Devils tied things up.
The Devils and Islanders seemed to settle in after that as the teams played a pretty even and uneventful 10 minutes of hockey before Tallinder tied things up with a point shot late in the 2nd.
The yo-yo effect continued in the 3rd period as mid-way through Mark Streit scored to give the Islanders their third lead of the game. It didn't last, though, as Adam Henrique scored his 1st of the season a couple minutes after to tie things up again.
The Devils were given a golden opportunity to win the game late in the 3rd when they were given their 5th power play of the game.
They failed to convert and less than two minutes into overtime Henrik Tallinder took a bad cross-checking penalty. The Islanders capitalized on the power play as Brad Boyes scored to earn the Islanders the extra point.
Game notes
- Ilya Kovalchuk was held off the scoresheet for the second time in as many games. He saw over 28 minutes of ice and had four shots in the loss.
- Adam Henrique made his season debut and played a little over 14 minutes. Henrique scored and saw a few shifts on the top line with Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk.
- Adam Larsson made his season debut, as well. Larsson was plus-1 and had a hit along with two blocked shots in the almost 18 minutes of ice time. Unfortunately for Larsson, his most notable play was probably deflecting an Islanders shot in front and passed Brodeur.
- Krys Barch had a spirited tilt with Eric Boulton and had a few strong shifts in the offensive zone Thursday night. At one point Barch completed four or five solid passes on one shift, something I don't ever recall Cam Janssen doing. I think the Devils made the right decision keeping Barch over Janssen.
- Lou Lamoriello definitely made the right move locking up Ryan Carter, Stephen Gionta and Steve Bernier. The three have been good ever since being put together last season and combined for two goals and five points last night.
- David Clarkson picked up an assist to extend his point-streak to six games. He now has four goals and eight points on the season. Over the last year he's really improved a lot and has turned into one of the better power forwards in the NHL. It's hard to believe a couple years ago he was considered a mediocre third line player who could mix it up.
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»