After a dreadful 1-4-1 road trip, the New Jersey Devils returned home to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. In a back-and-forth affair, the Devils got the last laugh as they won 3-2 in overtime.
The Devils had the majority of the possession time to start the game, and it finally paid off as Ondrej Palat tipped a Dougie Hamilton shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy to give them a 1-0 lead. But it was short-lived, as less than two minutes later, Victor Hedman blasted one through to knot it up.
The second period seemed to be mostly Devils as well, and once again, they got rewarded as Jack Hughes entered the zone and sniped one home. Jacob Markstrom had done his job, stopping +0.23 goals above expected through two frames.
The Devils entered the third period with that 2-1 lead intact but were tasked with killing off a very undisciplined high-sticking minor from Paul Cotter first. They did so, but then Brenden Dillon took a high-sticking penalty seconds later, and Markstrom made an outstanding save to keep it tied.
After the game, J. Hughes said, “(Markstrom’s) been unbelievable. I don’t know what’s going around the league in terms of goalie play, but you know, I got to think he’s right there at the top. He’s been playing unreal for us. And I think this is what we expected, but maybe not to this degree of how good he is.”
But at 11:55, Nikita Kucherov scored on a breakaway to tie it at two apiece. That’s where the score stood as it needed to 3-on-3 overtime to be decided.
J. Hughes drew a penalty, and Sheldon Keefe unconventionally deployed four forwards on the unit. Then, Stefan Noesen wired a loose puck past Vasilevskiy to seal the deal and win it for the Devils, their sixth straight at home.
Net Front Noesen is your new favorite superhero. pic.twitter.com/xcDST0jfgh
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 12, 2025
Keefe commended his star forward J. Hughes to The Hockey Writers after the contest: “(Jack’s) such an elite talent…I thought he was dynamic. I mean, his goal in the second, it’s a great defensive play and great positioning, knocks the puck down, goes down (the ice) and makes good with the shot…I thought he was really good tonight…even if he’s not at his best, you know, if you make a mistake, he’s going to make you pay, and he may force you into a mistake with just how he can move around the ice.”
The Devils will remain home on Monday to take on the Florida Panthers; the Lightning will finish a back-to-back against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 5 PM tomorrow (Sunday).
