Devils' 3-2 OT Win vs. Kraken: A Deserved 2 Points
It may have been a tough watch at times, but the New Jersey Devils deserved two points against the Seattle Kraken.
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Are the New Jersey Devils starting to turn it around? A win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday would go a long way. But for now, it’s hard not to like how they’ve played across their last two games.
After an impressive 5-2 win against the Minnesota Wild, the Devils followed it up with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Seattle Kraken. Even though it was a close game, it was a deserved win and two points for the Devils.
One of the Devils’ Best 5-on-5 Performances in Weeks
The Devils didn’t waste time yesterday, scoring just 54 seconds into the game. But that fast start was not indicative of how the game would go. Not even close.
It was a much different affair than the 5-2 win against the Wild. Sheldon Keefe mentioned it in his post-game presser, but assistant coach Brad Shaw said on the bench during the first period, “The Wild were trying to outscore us. The Kraken are trying to outcheck us.”
That was very much indicative of how the rest of the game went after Cody Glass’ goal 54 seconds in. The Kraken have not been the most explosive offensive team in the NHL this season, so they have to play this style of hockey to compete.
Fortunately, the Devils were up for it, even though it was a tough watch at times. Keefe talked a lot about being patient, especially in overtime, but the result was the Devils outplaying the Kraken.
The Timo Meier, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt line was among the Devils’ best last night. There was one shift late in the second that was emblematic of their game and how it caused the Kraken problems. They had the Kraken hemmed in the defensive zone for about a minute, perhaps more, and they nearly scored when Hughes hit the post.
This trio finished the night with an expected goals share (xG%) of 79.74 percent while holding a 13-5 edge in shot attempts. They haven’t always played well as a trio, but they’ve been excellent these last two games.
Meanwhile, Nico Hischier followed up a great performance against the Wild with another strong outing against the Kraken. He scored a power-play goal in the second and the game-winner in overtime. When Hischier goes, the team seems to go with him.
For the night, the Devils finished with an xG% of 68.06 percent at five-on-five. It was one of the best games they’ve played at five-on-five in weeks, maybe even months. That kind of process will help them win more games if they can maintain it.
The Devils have had trouble building off good stretches like this in 2025-26. Every time they win two, it seems like they lose two. How they play against the Hurricanes will be telling.
Hamilton With Another Impressive Outing
What a whirlwind of a last few days it’s been for Dougie Hamilton. To his credit, he’s responded with his two best games of the season against the Wild and Kraken.
Hamilton collected another assist, his third across the last two games, on Glass’ opening goal. However, he was more impactful than just collecting an assist. He was active offensively and had a couple of chances to score himself.
There was one chance where Hamilton drove to the net and nearly batted a puck out of mid air for a goal that would have broken the 2-2 tie in regulation. He finished with a team-high four shots on goal, 10 shot attempts, two scoring chances and one high-danger chance.
More importantly, Hamilton was pushing play the other way. The Devils had a 23-11 shot attempt advantage when he was on the ice at five-on-five, and they controlled 81.65 percent of the expected goals.
As constructed, the Devils’ blue line does not have a defenseman who can drive play as Hamilton does. Not Luke Hughes. Not Šimon Nemec. If you take Hamilton out of the lineup again, you’re losing the only play-driving ability you have from the back end.
If Keefe wants to keep Nemec in, the Devils could roll with an 11/7 lineup. To be honest, that might be a better option than rolling out Paul Cotter or Luke Glendening consistently. Keefe can then double shift Hughes, Hischier, Jesper Bratt, etc., on the fourth line. But if he wants to stick with 12/6, Hamilton needs to remain on the blue line.
Nemec played well last night, but Hamilton, Brett Pesce and Johnathan Kovacevic are the team’s three best right-handed defensemen. It’d also send a poor message to the room if you take Hamilton out after how he’s played in the last two games.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Devils won these two games with Hamilton back in the lineup. If they want to continue climbing back into the playoff race, he needs to play.
Quick Hits
Arseny Gritsyuk didn’t get on the score sheet, but he was one of the Devils’ best forwards. He was winning plenty of one-on-one battles, and the puck just always seemed to find a way on his stick. He nearly broke the tie in the third on a rush chance, but Philipp Grubauer made a good save. Gritsyuk led Devils skaters with an xG% of 96.27 percent, and high-danger chances were 4-0 when he was on the ice. The Devils need more Gritsyuks in their lineup.
It’s still a work in progress for Luke Hughes, but he had another solid outing against the Kraken. He collected two assists, including the secondary helper on Hischier’s game-winner. He finished with an xG% of 55.42 percent and totaled a game score of 1.51. Baby steps.
It was an interesting game for Jacob Markström. He should have saved Adam Larsson’s goal, and he was completely out of position on the Kraken’s second tally. That led to giving up a juicy rebound off the left pad to Jared McCann, who made no mistake about it. However, Markström did make several key saves in the third period to keep it tied. His best came when Shane Wright redirected a point shot that deflected off his right pad. That could have been game, set and match if it went in. In total, Markström made 15 saves while stopping 0.32 goals above expected. Though it wasn’t pretty, you can’t complain about the end result. He was solid.
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