Devils' Explosive 3rd Period Leads to 4-1 Win vs. Blackhawks
Four unanswered third-period goals helped lead the New Jersey Devils to a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks
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Nothing about that New Jersey Devils homestand was easy. It seemed almost every game was them getting goalie'd until they weren't. In the end, the Devils came away with seven of ten points on this five-game homestand after a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Devils did not play their best game, especially in the second period. But they saved their best for last, totaling four goals in an explosive third period to help them move to 20-10-3 on the season — a 107-point pace over 82 games.
Devils Respond With Explosive 3rd Period
I liked the Devils' start to the game, as had been the case for most of this homestand. But like so many times this last week, it took the Devils a while to break the ice and find the back of the net.
The Blackhawks got off to a 1-0 lead in the second after converting on a rush chance, though the puck did take an unfortunate bounce off Luke Hughes' visor. Still, it was disappointing, considering how the Devils started the game.
Once again, the Devils outshot and out-chanced their opponent in the first period. They had a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal at all strengths and controlled 70.19 percent (xG%) of the expected goals at five-on-five. But they couldn't carry it over into the second.
Perhaps the Devils got down on themselves since Drew Commesso was standing on his head. Sheldon Keefe mentioned it in his post-game press conference, but he thought the team lacked energy in the second.
He said that was his message to the team at the second intermission, and boy, did they respond with more energy. Mercer scored a much-needed goal to tie the game at 1-1 early in the third, but that was just the start. Perhaps no goal this season was more electric than Jack Hughes' go-ahead tally to make it 2-1.
That goal started with an insane nearly two-minute shift from the Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Mercer line that hemmed in the Blackhawks, keeping the puck away from Chicago via the cycle and forecheck.
That sustained pressure from the Devils allowed them to out-change the Blackhawks, with Jesper Bratt coming onto the ice. He got in on the forecheck and dislodged the puck from Wyatt Kaiser with a hit along the wall. Brett Pesce then hit Hughes with a pass, and the rest was history.
The Devils would add two more goals via Hischier and Meier, which was a deserved result. They generated 12 scoring chances and five high-danger chances in the third alone, and look where their goals came from. Right in front of the crease:
