The New Jersey Devils traveled south to close out their road trip against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 4. The pair put up a tough fight, but the Devils were able to take the win 3-2 in the shootout.
Seven-Round Shootout to Determine the Winner
The Penguins managed to tie up the game towards the middle of the third period. No goals were scored after this, and the game went into overtime. Despite each team getting two shot attempts on the net, neither was able to score a goal. The game went to a shootout in order to determine the winner.
The seven-round shootout was determined by Paul Cotter, Dougie Hamilton, and finally, Timo Meier, who scored the winning goal.
Related: Jack Hughes’ 2 Goals Helps Devils to 3-2 Shootout Win Over Penguins
Both the Penguins and the Devils scored in the first round. Anthony Beauvillier scored in the third round for Pittsburgh, but Hamilton kept the Devils alive with his third-round goal. He was able to shoot the puck through the legs of Alex Nedeljkovic to keep the game alive. Daws made some great saves in the next four rounds that followed, including an incredible glove save on Kevin Hayes’ shot. In the final round, Meier banked to the right of Nedeljkovic as he went to the middle of the net. He sent the puck into the right side of the net to win the game for New Jersey.
Hughes and Bratt Are the Dynamic Duo
The Devils continue to have two strong point leaders on their team, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. Both goals in regulation time were scored by Hughes last night. Who recorded an assist on both goals? None other than Bratt.
Hughes’ first goal came right at the end of the first period. The Devils made a break to the net. Ondrej Palat was with Hughes, passing the puck back and forth. Palat took a shot which was blocked. Bratt was in front of the net, recovered the rebound and took another shot. Once again, the puck was stopped but Hughes was able to send it past Nedeljkovic.
Nine minutes into the second, the pair repeated their success. Hughes won the faceoff against Sidney Crosby. He sent the puck to Bratt on his right. He skated around the circumference of the faceoff circle as Hughes skated out across the ice. He passed to Hughes while he was in a prime scoring position. With a blast of a shot, he scored his second goal of the night.
Bratt currently leads the Devils in assists with 45 while Hughes is close behind with 40. He is also second on the team in goals with 23. He sits behind Nico Hischier on the team’s leaderboard. In overall points for New Jersey, Hughes leads with 63, but Bratt is close behind with 61. The pair have been an unstoppable duo on the first line this season.
Daws Displayed Stellar Athleticism in First Full Game of the Season
Daws set foot on the ice in the last game on Feb. 2 against the Buffalo Sabres. However, he only recorded 19 minutes of ice time because Jake Allen was pulled from the net. Against the Penguins, he got his first start of the season.
Daws saved 25 of the 27 shots that the Penguins took last night. The two goals that he let in earned him a save percentage of .926. In the shootout, he was able to stop five of the seven shots from the Penguins. He gave the Devils the edge they needed to take home the two points.
The Devils have two more games before the 4 Nations Face-Off. One is a home game against the Vegas Golden Knights, while the last one is in Montreal against the Canadiens. There is a day break between each game, so it is not a back-to-back. However, don’t count out Daws’ chance to start again yet. After his stellar performance against the Penguins, he proved that he can play at the NHL level. The future goaltending for the Devils is looking bright.
Heading Home
The Devils will head back home to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, Feb. 6.
