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Devils Avoid Catastrophe, Win Physical Tilt vs. Red Wings
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- Devils Avoid Catastrophe, Win Physical Tilt vs. Red Wings
Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
Maybe it was getting back on home ice, maybe it was the home cooking, or maybe it was Cody Glass . Perhaps a combination of all three? Whatever it was, the New Jersey Devils looked like themselves again on Monday, which propelled them to their 14th win of the season.
After head coach Sheldon Keefe explained over the weekend he was, "Looking for players," the Devils showed up on Monday vs. Detroit .
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That's large in part due to Glass' return. But, the Devils also got plus performances out of Timo Meier , Stefan Noesen , and the newly formed defensive pairing of Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec .
Let's dive into the Devils'…
Period One
Just two minutes into the tilt with the Red Wings , it looked like the Devils might be doomed with another injury. J.T. Compher hit captain Nico Hischier with an illegal check that sent him right down New Jersey 's tunnel.
The Devils went to their first power play, and although it failed, Hischier returned to the Devils' bench and a catastrophe was avoided.
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As Compher exited the box, he was sprung for a breakaway, to which Markstrom stopped to keep the game scoreless. Noesen immediately went after Compher in retaliatory fashion for hitting the Devils' captain.
After a spirited bout, the Devils went to the penalty kill as Noesen was tagged with an extra two minutes for roughing.
New Jersey killed the penalty, and even strength play ensued.
The Devils eventually broke open the scoring when Noesen unloaded a shot from the point, which was redirected by Meier and past Cam Talbot . Meier scored his seventh goal of the season, and second in as many games.
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Alex Debrincat , however, tied things up, burying his own rebound on the rush with about three minutes remaining in the first.
Yet, the Devils pushed back and regained the lead just over a minute later, after Hischier finished a pretty passing play by Meier and Jesper Bratt to go ahead 2-1.
New Jersey kept the pressure up and kept play in Detroit's end of the ice. A shot by Luke Hughes from the point was then redirected by Glass, scoring in his return, to give the Devils their first multi-goal lead at 3-1.
Period Two
The middle frame started in favor of the Red Wings, who received an early power play after Dougie Hamilton was assessed a high-stick minor.
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James van Riemsdyk cleaned up a rebound in front of Markstrom, and cut the Devils' lead to 3-2 on Detroit's man advantage.
The Devils and Red Wings continued to trade even strength chances, until New Jersey notched their fourth goal of the game, when Connor Brown cleaned up a rebound off the end board that popped up in front of the net.
The low-event middle frame ended with the Red Wings holding a 22-14 shot advantage, but New Jersey owned the two-goal lead.
Period Three
The Devils and Red Wings continued trading even strength chances in the third period for the first 10-plus minutes.
It wasn't until the 10:12 mark when a puck would fall, this time in favor of the Red Wings as Dylan Larkin cut New Jersey's lead, making it a 4-3 game.
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Tensions rose right after Larkin's goal with plenty of extracurricular physicality between the Devils and Red Wings.
Nemec appeared to become injured after an illegal spear by Ben Chariot that sent the 21-year-old defenseman down the tunnel. Fortunately, Nemec returned quickly, and the Devils resumed at full strength.
The Red Wings upped the pressure, forcing Markstrom to make several big stops down the stretch, including a pad stack on an attempt at the left circle that appeared to be an easy tap-in goal.
Detroit pulled Talbot with under two minutes left in the game.
Yet, the Devils prevailed on the back of their goaltender in the closing moments as Markstrom continued to come up with big saves.
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After the buzzer, the Devils and Red Wings' tempers boiled over. All players on the ice scrapped, a bit before the officials got things under control, and sent each team to their respective locker rooms.
Markstrom made 33 saves on 36 shots, and 2.25 saves above expected.
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