The New Jersey Devils went down into the Sunshine State and put on a scoring clinic in their win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3. They picked up their first win of the season, while the Lightning find themselves winless at the end of their first homestand of the season.
By the end of the first period, the Lightning had dug a hole for themselves they couldn’t get themselves out of, regardless of how close they got at one point.
The Devils put up three unanswered goals in the first period. Timo Meier battled in front of the net to push the rebounded puck past goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to open the scoring. Connor Brown redirected a pass from Arseny Gritsyuk from the left circle to the back of the net, and Nico Hischier managed to get the wrap-around shot through. He had the assistance of the puck being knocked around between defenseman Max Crozier and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, making it tough to save.
Come the following period, the Lightning did what they could to get back in the game. Yanni Gourde and Ryan McDonagh each picked up their first goals of the season in an effort to make it a one-goal game.
However, a power play gone wrong for the Lightning killed their hopes of coming back and winning. Jesper Bratt turned over the puck in the defensive zone and got a clean breakaway toward Vasilevskiy. He fired it past him for the shorthanded goal, and they pulled ahead from there. Brown put the nail in the coffin with his second goal of the game. Darren Raddysh’s first goal of the season wrapped up scoring.
Related: 3 Takeaways from the Devils’ Season Opening Loss to the Hurricanes
Both teams went scoreless on their power-play opportunities, though a score did come during a man advantage if you want to get technical. Jacob Markstrom saved 14 of 17 for the Devils, and Vasilevskiy only managed to save 24 of 29.
The Devils take their road trip up to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Monday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Lightning hit the road for the first time when they take on the Boston Bruins. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m.
