Devils Lean on Daws in 3-2 Shootout Win vs. Penguins

Goaltender Nico Daws was fantastic in the New Jersey Devils' crucial 3-2 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins

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New Jersey Devils games have been real nail-biters lately. Last night's 3-2 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins was no different, even though the Devils got out to a 2-0 lead. Fortunately, they found a way to pull it out in the shootout, their first shootout win in nearly two years.

Nico Daws was stellar in his first NHL start of 2024-25. Had it not been for him, especially in the shootout, the Devils probably would have dropped more points. Instead, they came away with two crucial points to move to 30-19-6.

Daws Was a Difference-Maker

I'm not surprised the Devils gave Jake Allen a night off. He's played plenty since Jacob Markström went down with an MCL sprain against the Boston Bruins a couple of weeks ago. Given the Devils' success against the Penguins in recent seasons, this seemed like a good spot for Daws to start.

As it turns out, Sheldon Keefe made the right decision. Daws made one of his best starts in a Devils uniform and was particularly excellent in different key situations.

The Devils did not play a poor first period, but they did have to kill two Penguins' power plays that generated plenty of quality looks. Daws made six of his nine saves in the first period while the Devils were shorthanded, with five coming on the second Penguins power play alone.

Overall, Daws saved 1.48 goals above expected in the first period, with most of that coming while the Devils were killing those two power plays.

The Devils settled down after the first period and played a relatively sound game at even strength (there was plenty of 4v4 time). They allowed just eight high-danger chances at even strength, which likely helped Daws out.

Still, he made some great saves. Daws' right pad stop on Rickard Rakell early in the third period was impressive, considering there was plenty of traffic in front of him. And, of course, there was the shootout.

We all know the Devils' struggles in the shootout. It's usually not because of their goalies but more so that they can't score goals. It looked like that'd be the case again, but Daws made 5/7 saves in the shootout before Timo Meier ended it with the Devils' third shootout goal.

Daws finished the night making 25/27 saves while saving 1.18 goals above expected and stopping Sidney Crosby in the shootout. The Devils couldn't have asked for much more out of him.

Hughes & Bratt Carried the Way Offensively

Even when Nico Hischier is in the lineup, it's easy to see how limited this team is with him. Without him, it can look dire. Thankfully, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt did their best to pick up the slack last night.

Though the Devils gave up five shots on goal on the Penguins' second power play, Bratt nearly scored on a shorthanded breakaway via a Hughes setup to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. Perhaps that was a sign of things to come because Bratt and Hughes were most of the Devils' offense last night.

At first, it looked like Bratt scored with 16 seconds left in the first to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. But replay showed Hughes was last to touch the puck before it went off Rakell's skate and past Alex Nedeljkovic.

After the Devils went goalless on a four-minute power play, Hughes and Bratt responded and prevented the Penguins from generating momentum from that four-minute kill. Hughes won a faceoff to Bratt, who then fed Hughes for the one-timer to give the Devils a 2-0 lead.

Bratt was one of the Devils' best skaters, finishing with an expected goals share (xG%) of 71.36 percent at even strength; he was also second in Game Score to Hughes.

The Devils only have two games left until the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-off, but they'll likely have to lean on Hughes and Bratt to help them get results against the Vegas Golden Knights, who lost again last night, and the Montreal Canadiens.

Devils Managed Siegenthaler's Early Injury Well

The Devils had mostly avoided the injury bug until the last couple of weeks. Getting Erik Haula back last night was a welcomed addition, but down went Jonas Siegenthaler early in the first period, forcing the Devils to play with five defensemen for the majority of the game.

Keefe said after the game that Siegenthaler will miss time for sure, so that looms large. But at least for last night, the Devils handled his absence well.

The one defenseman who stood out in particular was Luke Hughes. Keefe leaned on the younger Hughes quite a bit, and he was awesome. He consistently used his long reach to break up plays and knock pucks loose from Penguins skaters.

Not only was Hughes using his reach effectively, but he was forcing players wide on the rush and canceling players out on the forecheck; there was one sequence where he outmuscled Bryan Rust behind the net in the third that stood out the most.

With Siegenthaler out for at least the next two games and possibly beyond the 4 Nations break, we'll likely see plenty of Hughes. And you can't say he doesn't deserve it. He's been fantastic this season, so Keefe should trust him.

Quick Hits

• Meier has been snakebitten for quite some time. He had a glorious chance on the Devils' four-minute power play that he wired off the post. At even strength, he led Devils skaters in xG% at 74.5 percent. It was nice to see him win the game for the Devils in the shootout because he deserves better. The chances have been there. He just can't buy a goal right now.

• Hopefully, the Devils won't have many more shootouts the rest of this season, but their shooting options should be clear after last night. Despite his skill and talent, Jack Hughes should not take shootouts anymore. For whatever reason, he just isn't good at them. Paul Cotter looks like the Devils' best shootout taker, while Bratt, Meier and Dougie Hamilton look the part. Even Tomáš Tatar made a nice move. Nedeljkovic just came up with a better save. If the Devils have more shootouts in their future, last night showed who their shooters should be.

Game Score Chart

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Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick

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