Devils' 4-3 OT Win vs. Islanders: Jack Hughes Is Back
Another 3-point night from Jack Hughes helped lift the New Jersey Devils to a thrilling 4-3 OT win over the Islanders.
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I wasn't intending to write up last night's game against the New York Islanders, but Jack Hughes changed those plans. The New Jersey Devils looked dead in the water with less than five minutes left, but they rallied and came away with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win.
Hughes was lights out again, totaling two goals and an assist, his second three-point game in a row. He's back, and that only benefits the Devils. Here are three takeaways from the win ahead of tonight's tilt against the San Jose Sharks.
Hughes Did It Again
Hughes was electric against the Montreal Canadiens in a 5-3 win a few nights ago, but that wasn't surprising. The Canadiens are the worst defensive team in the NHL, and it's not particularly close.
The Islanders may be riddled with injuries, but they're still a stout defensive team. It was a good challenge for Hughes, but he answered the bell and then some.
Simon Holmstrom started the scoring by giving the Islanders a 1-0 lead, but Hughes answered in the second with a power-play goal to make it a 1-1 game. On the surface, that might not seem like too big of a deal, but that goal showed something different.
Hughes sniped Ilya Sorokin with a threading-the-needle shot that found its way through traffic and a couple of screens from Nico Hischier and Stefan Noesen. We haven't seen that shot from Hughes as often as we're used to from him, so that caught my eye.
Later in the second, Hughes stripped Grant Hutton of the puck and got in alone on Ilya Sorokin. But Sorokin made an incredible splitting save that made my lower body disintegrate. The point is, he created another quality scoring chance.
Hughes was not done, though. He collected an assist on Noesen's goal that tied the game with the extra attacker, and, of course, he called the game with another snipe on Sorokin in overtime.
Hughes finished yesterday's game with an expected goals share (xG%) of 77.71 percent, leading Devils skaters. His shot looks like it's back, and he's starting to take over games at five-on-five. Watch out because the Devils could get hot if he keeps playing like this.
Another Up and Down Outing for Markström
Jacob Markström isn't costing the Devils games (other than the Detroit Red Wings tilt a few weeks ago), but he isn't playing his best yet.
There was nothing Markström could have done on Holmstrom's goal, but the Devils could have used a save on one of the Islanders' final two goals, specifically Dennis Cholowski's tally that made it a 2-1 game; that shot had an expected goals of 0.05 (per MoneyPuck).
Yet again, Markström finished with a high-danger save percentage below .800 (.714). Granted, he only faced seven high-danger shots, but saving high-danger shots was supposed to be his strength, and it's been anything but that so far.
To be fair, Markström did make some good saves, but he got bailed out by Hughes and the Islanders' inability to hold a third-period lead. He finished the night with an .864 save percentage while giving up 0.72 goals above expected. The Devils need him to be better, especially since their schedule gets much tougher after tonight's Sharks game.
Devils Depth Led the Late Comeback
Hughes may have been the star of the game, but the Devils' depth players stepped up in the final five minutes of the third to help tie it up. First, Paul Cotter made a great play to set up Dawson Mercer to cut the Islanders' lead to 3-2 with about 4:30 left.
Noesen seems to have a knack for scoring a big goal and making the right play, and he did it again with less than a minute left in regulation. I can't tell if he was trying to center the puck or if he was playing for the deflection off an Islanders skate. But as they say, get pucks toward the net and good things happen.
I bring this up because a season ago, the Devils did not get a Noesen or Cotter-like player to spark a comeback or tie a game. If it wasn't Hughes, Jesper Bratt or Nico Hischier leading a comeback, the Devils probably lost.
One) This shows the Devils' improved depth. Two) It may be another sign that this team is different. The Devils probably would have found a way to lose that game last season. It may only be one instance in the early part of 2024-25, but finding a way to win that one is a positive sign, especially since the odds were so stacked against them with five minutes left in regulation.
Quick Hits
The Islanders' lineup may be depleted with Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair out with injuries, but that doesn't take away from Jonas Siegenthaler and Johnathan Kovacevic locking down the Islanders' top line. They played about nine minutes against Bo Horvat and limited Horvat to zero high-danger chances at five-on-five. That line doesn't have as much firepower with Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau as Horvat's linemates. But Siegenthaler and Kovacevic have been doing this to everyone this season.
Luke Hughes' numbers did not look great after the game; he was at the bottom of xG% and Game Score. But he was having a solid outing before being on the ice for the Islanders' second and third goals. It's still early, but his defensive game looks improved from a season ago. We'll see as the sample size increases, but he may be a more well-rounded, two-way defender.
The Devils are 5-0-1 with Kurtis MacDermid in the lineup, so maybe he was the secret sauce all along. Jokes aside, I'm not sure the fourth line of MacDermid, Justin Dowling and Tomáš Tatar is a recipe for long-term success. Nolan Foote may be an option at some point; he's at a point per game in the AHL. But a trade might be in the cards with Nathan Bastian and Curtis Lazar out long-term.
Game Score Chart
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick