The New Jersey Devils traveled to Nashville to take on the Predators for the first time this season. New Jersey faced their 2022-23 associate coach, Andrew Brunette, who was hired for the Predators head coaching position in the offseason.
Both teams are in the playoff push and have had improved play lately. The Predators entered the game coming off a 5-4 overtime win against the Arizona Coyotes and the Devils have gathered points in every game since the All-Star Break except one.
With Vitek Vanecek dealing with a sickness and lower-body injury, Nico Daws made his second start in two nights. He had an amazing performance against the Seattle Kraken on Monday (Feb. 12) and made 27 saves on 28 shots. Akira Schmid was the backup goaltender for the Devils in Nashville.
Juuse Saros was net and looked to pick up a second straight win. His name has started to slowly arise in trade rumors as he is set to become a restricted free agent this offseason. With the Devils in need of a netminder, the two teams will be involved in a plethora of rumors moving forward.
The Devils were able to defeat the Predators 4-2 and secure four points in two nights.
Devils Earn Plethora of Broken Streaks
The back-to-back against the Kraken and Predators was the 13th of the season for the Devils. In the previous 12 attempts, New Jersey was not able to gather four points in two nights until now. With the team having 16 total back-to-backs during the season, their struggles during the two games have left a lot of points on the table. Adding four points in two days is a huge boost for a team in the thick of a playoff push. Furthermore, it adds momentum and belief in a locker room that needs to get into a rhythm.
Another streak that New Jersey was able to snap was a 15-year-long drought. The last time that the Devils beat the Predators in regulation in Nashville was on Jan. 1, 2009. To say that the Predators have outperformed the Devils in Nashville is an understatement. However, the team fought off one-goal deficits twice, and Timo Meier scored the game-winning goal with 6:16 left in the game.
Unfortunately, the Devils also suffered a streak they did not want to see end. Heading into the game, the penalty kill was able to kill off 14 out of 14 of their last kills. However, Ryan O’Reilly netted a power-play goal in the early minutes of the first period. Despite the broken streak, the penalty-killers bounced back and killed off the other Nashville opportunity.
Daws Shines Bright for Devils
The decision to start Daws in back-to-back games paid off for the Devils. In the two games, he allowed three goals on 60 shots. The 23-year-old netminder did not play since Jan. 25 until starting both of these games for New Jersey.
Related: 5(ish) Questions with Devils Goalie Nico Daws
Daws was thrown into action with Vanecek’s sickness and lower-body injury. However, he has performed well enough for the team to gut out two wins in two nights. Looking forward, the young netminder will likely be relied upon for the rest of the playoff push. Barring a trade for a goaltender, the netminder will have to stay sharp to keep earning wins.
At the other end of the ice, the Devils had to work hard to solve Saros. New Jersey peppered the Finnish netminder with 47 shots on goal. He finished the night with a 1.71 goals saved above expected. Despite his strong performance, the Devils persisted and eventually earned their goals. Now, the team will travel back to New Jersey to face the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
Quick Takeaways
- Curtis Lazar played in his 500th NHL game against the Predators.
- The Devils snapped a 5,521-day losing streak to the Predators in regulation in Nashville.
- This was the last away game before New Jersey plays in the 2024 NHL Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium.
- New Jersey struggled on the power play again and finished 0 for 2 on the night.
- The Devils will play the Predators again in New Jersey on April 7.
