Devils' Markstrom Struggles in 7-3 Loss to Penguins
The New Jersey Devils weren't particularly sharp against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Jacob Markström didn't help the cause.
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A four-game winning streak remains elusive for the New Jersey Devils. It seemed like yesterday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins would have been the perfect opportunity for the Devils to break that drought, but the Penguins had different ideas.
Instead, the Penguins defeated the Devils 7-3 for a four-game winning streak of their own. The Devils made it interesting in the third period, but it was too little, too late.
Markström Struggled Mightily
The Devils did not play well yesterday, especially across the first two periods, but Jacob Markström did not help the cause. He made just 16 saves on 22 shots, and Ray Ferraro was even quite critical of his performance on the ABC broadcast.
Markström gave up six goals on 3.02 expected goals, and even Ferraro said he should have stopped three of the goals he gave up. The first soft one was Rickard Rakell's goal that opened up a 3-1 Penguins lead. Yes, he was wide open in the slot, but the puck never left the ice. If Markström keeps his pad down, it stays at 2-1.
After that, pick whichever goal you'd want Markström to stop. Erik Karlsson's wrist shot from the point was probably the most egregious, and it came at the worst time, as the Devils had momentum after scoring two power-play goals to make it a one-goal game.
The sixth goal Markström gave up, which came after the Penguins took a 6-3 lead on an empty net, went right through Markström. It didn't matter for the game, but as Ferraro said, it mattered for the big picture because he has not played well since returning from his MCL sprain.
Markström has an .828 save percentage since returning from that injury and has given up 8.04 goals above expected. Markström needs to play to get back into form, and his numbers are due to bounce back eventually, but Jake Allen has been the better goaltender lately.
Even with the loss yesterday, the Devils are a very solid bet to make the playoffs. But I would probably lean on Allen a bit and split starts close to 50/50 until the Devils clinch or are on the verge of clinching a playoff spot. Right now, he gives the Devils the best chance to win over Markström, who may not yet be 100 percent from the MCL sprain.
Bratt Elevating His Game
There is a vocal minority of fans who share their displeasure with Jesper Bratt. I will admit that scoring three goals in the calendar year 2025 was too long a dry spell for him, but he’s broken out of it and has put the team on his back since Jack Hughes' injury.
Bratt didn't score a goal yesterday, but he totaled three assists to tie Scott Stevens' single-season franchise record for assists (60). Bratt's passing was on point, starting with Cody Glass' goal that opened the scoring for the Devils.
Luke Hughes dumped the puck in, and it evaded a Penguins defender. Bratt corralled the puck along the wall and quickly fed Glass in the slot for his second goal as a member of the Devils.
On Timo Meier's power-play goal in the third, Bratt took advantage of a great keep at the blue line by Šimon Nemec. Once Nemec got the puck to Bratt, he made a beautiful cross-ice saucer pass to Meier, who had plenty of space to fire a wrist shot past Tristan Jarry.
Bratt picked up the secondary assist on Nico Hischier's power-play goal to cap off the three-assist night, but he was also one of only six Devils skaters to finish with an expected goals share (xG%) above 50 percent at five-on-five.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe is doing the right thing by keeping Bratt on a separate line from Hischier, and he seems to have some chemistry with Glass, who had another excellent game. That's nine points in Bratt's last three outings, and it's probably no coincidence their scoring has improved across that stretch.
It Wasn’t as Bad as the Score Indicates
The Devils weren't particularly sharp yesterday, but I don't think they played as poorly as the score indicated. They only gave up 22 shots, and the Penguins had just eight high-danger chances at five-on-five.
It came down to Markström not making the saves he needed to. Had he just saved what was expected of him, the Devils would probably have gotten at least a point out of that game, and you would have gladly taken that result.
That's why there's a case to give Allen some run here. He was excellent in the Devils' 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, especially in the third period. He's saved 17 goals above expected for the season, ranked sixth in the NHL among qualified goaltenders.
Markström will eventually regain his form, but it may be Allen who helps the Devils clinch a playoff spot before Markström rounds into form for the postseason.
Quick Hits
Ondřej Palát can't keep getting away with this. There are just way too many quality chances, usually created by Bratt, that go to waste. There was one shot in the slot that Palát had a few minutes after Hischier scored to make it a 4-3 game, but he didn't even come close to hitting the net. There's nothing you can do about it with 14 games left in the regular season, but getting a finisher who can produce alongside Bratt or Jack Hughes for next season will be a top priority this offseason.
Glass continues to play excellent hockey since the Devils acquired him from the Penguins at the trade deadline. He led Devils skaters with a 76.44 xG% and was not on the ice for any of the Penguins' seven goals. He has a 58.8 xG% since the Devils acquired him, and they've outscored teams 7-2 when he's on the ice. As far as I'm concerned, he's the second-line center for the rest of the season.
Game Score Chart
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick
I didn't see most of this game - I forgot it was an early start. Did Nemec perform as poorly as the gamescore indicates? Or was that just because he was on the ice when Markstrom was letting in bad goals?