The New Jersey Devils headed home for their first home game of 2025. They were on a six-game road trip and only came away with one win under their belts. They looked to turn over a new leaf when they hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 11, and their mission was secured. It was a close game when the Lightning forced it to go to overtime, but it was the Devils who prevailed, winning 3-2.
Noesen with the OT Winner
Heading into the third period, the Devils had the lead, 2-1. Towards the middle of the third, the Lightning were able to score to tie the game up. With no more goals, it forced the game to head into overtime, the sixth time this season for New Jersey. For the second time this season, the Devils were able to come away with the OT win, thanks to Stefan Noesen.
Related: Devils Win Sixth Straight at Home, Beat Lightning 3-2 in OT
The Devils were able to earn a power play when Nick Paul tripped Jack Hughes. They were not going to let this extra man opportunity go to waste. Jesper Bratt skated up to the left face-off circle, taking a shot. Noesen was in front and tried to tip it into the net, but Andrei Vasilevsky denied his chance. Jack Hughes recovered the rebounded puck by the boards and skated around. He took another shot from the same face-off circle Bratt was in. It was once again denied, but Noesen was up in front to try and make a scoring chance. Luckily, this time the puck went in the net to end the game and give the Devils the win.
Markstrom Continues to Stun
If Jacob Markstrom is not in contention to win the Vezina Trophy, he should be now. He made excellent saves throughout the game to put the Devils on top.
Brayden Point, from directly in front of the net, took a shot at what was an open space of the net. Markstrom made a lunge for the puck, putting his arm directly in line with where it was going. He made sure that the puck was not finding its mark.
Markstrom made 23 saves this game, giving him a save percentage of .920. This game marked win 21 for him out of 32 total games played this season. His overall save percentage sits at .911 with a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.19. His performance has been stellar this season, with this being his lowest GAA in his career.
His save on Point’s shot was not the first incredible save he has made this season, and there’s a good chance that it is not his last. As his performance continues to get even better, Markstrom should be in the talks for the Vezina Trophy for the 2024-25 season.
Home Ice Territory for the Win
After a six-game road trip that resulted in only a single win, the Devils were able to win their sixth straight game at home with this game. This home win streak stretch started back on Dec. 12, when the Devils defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-1. They were unfortunately unable to repeat this when they played Los Angeles in their home arena on Jan. 1 to ring in the new year.
The Devils clearly perform better when they play on home ice. Their record at home is currently made up of 13 wins and nine losses, three of which were in overtime. Their away record is currently comprised of 13 wins and 10 losses, one of which was in overtime. Although this is a narrow margin of just one game, that still puts the Devils above in terms of home games versus away games. Hopefully, they can keep that home-ice momentum up and look to get a better away record.
Staying at Home
The Devils will look to earn another home-ice win when they host the Florida Panthers on Jan. 14.
