The Los Angeles Kings had won six in a row and looked to make it more against a New Jersey Devils team that had severely struggled at home. Ultimately, it was the Devils who prevailed as they defeated the Kings 3-1.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe told The Hockey Writers (THW), “A major priority when I was coming here was to get this team to defend, and we’re really starting to figure that out. It’s been exciting.”
The first period was a relatively quiet one, as the Devils mostly controlled time of possession. Each team had a couple of great looks but couldn’t cash in. In the second, possession time started to even out. Alex Turcotte was taken down on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot, but missed the net. Jack Hughes and Ondrej Palat were on a 2-on-1, but it was broken up. The Kings came the other way and Jordan Spence scored on a shot that Jacob Markstrom probably wants back; the shot from 50.6 feet out had just a 2.2% chance of being a goal, per MoneyPuck. The Devils got a much-needed answer as the period was coming to a close, however, as J. Hughes redeemed himself with a great individual effort to set up Palat and tie the game.
The third period was relatively boring most of the way through, until J. Hughes gave the Devils a 2-1 lead on a great feed from Palat. Then, the Devils were tasked to kill off an Erik Haula high-sticking penalty and did so in the best possible way…Brett Pesce scored shorthanded for his first goal of the season. After the game, J. Hughes told THW, “We’re excited for him.”
Hey shorty, how ya doin? pic.twitter.com/6hSL3tbbLY
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) December 13, 2024
The Devils shut it down during the extra attacker scenario and that was that. They will remain home to face the Chicago Blackhawks at 1:00 PM ET on Saturday afternoon; the Kings will continue their road trip at the same time against the New York Rangers.
