Devils' 3-2 Shootout Win vs. Wild: Luke Hughes Shines
Luke Hughes was instrumental in helping the New Jersey Devils secure two more points against the Minnesota Wild.
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The New Jersey Devils just got through the toughest part of their remaining schedule with some good results. They've secured points in four of their last five games after a thrilling 3-2 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild last night.
Luke Hughes was electric again, but the players you expect to step up for the Devils continue to step up amid all their injuries. Here are three takeaways from last night's win.
Luke Hughes Continues His Late-Season Surge
Let's start with Hughes, who had a tremendous impact on the Devils' two wins against the Wild. The Devils have needed him to step up with Dougie Hamilton out for the remainder of the regular season, and he's stepped up in a big way.
Hughes opened the scoring for the Devils after Brett Pesce found him wide open at the left point. The shot was a wicked snipe underneath Filip Gustavsson's glove, but that was only the start of his night.
It didn't result in a goal, but Hughes made a great play to force a turnover in the Wild's zone toward the end of the second period. He couldn't get a clean shot on Gustavsson, but he stopped the Wild from breaking out and getting the attack going the other way.
Hughes didn't score on that chance, but he made sure the Devils found the back of the net on a similar play in the third period. The Wild were looking to break out of the defensive zone, but Hughes anticipated the pass and used his skating to force a turnover at the Wild's blue line.
The puck ended up on Stefan Noesen's stick, and he fed Nico Hischier in the blue paint for the go-ahead goal to give the Devils a 2-1 lead.
Hughes was all over the ice, and not just offensively. His on-ice metrics may not indicate it, but he consistently forced turnovers and broke up plays. His anticipation was on point, and he used his skating to create space in the offensive zone.
Hughes has totaled 13 points in 13 games since Hamilton got injured against the Dallas Stars in early March. The Devils don't have as much offensive firepower due to injuries, but Hughes has stepped up when the team has needed him most.
Markström Settling In
The Wild played better than they did Saturday night in St. Paul, but Jacob Markström was up to the task again. He looked sharp in that 5-2 win, but he was even better yesterday.
The Devils didn't play an awful game. Far from it, but they needed Markström to make some timely saves. He was particularly excellent in the first period, stopping nearly a full goal above expected, but he was sharp throughout the game.
One of Markström's best saves came on the penalty kill in the second period when a Matt Boldy shot took a wild redirect, but Markström made the save to preserve the 1-0 lead.
Even though the Wild didn't generate much offense during overtime, Markström made a key save on Marcus Johansson to keep the game tied. He got a bit lucky in the shootout when Boldy's shot hit the crossbar, but he also made a save on Mats Zuccarello, one of the best shootout-takers in the NHL.
Markström saved 0.86 goals above expected while making 25 saves on 27 shots. That follows his start on Saturday when he stopped what was expected of him.
The Wild are not the most offensively gifted team, especially with Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek still out with injuries, but they're still good. Markström playing well in both games and getting wins in each may be signs that he's returning to form after suffering an MCL sprain in late January.
Devils Handled Adversity Well
Even though the Devils won both games against the Wild, they faced some adversity in each. On Saturday, the Wild made a push in the third period and nearly tied it at three, but Markström made a timely left-shoulder save on Ryan Hartman. There was no panic, and Hischier and Tomáš Tatar eventually put the game away with two late goals.
Yesterday, the Devils gave up two third-period leads, something that's been a problem lately, but they didn't wither. First, Vinny Hinostroza tied the game after Šimon Nemec lost coverage on him in front of the net.
Later, with just about two minutes left, Brenden Dillon made an awful play that led to a turnover in the slot. Boldy capitalized and tied the game at 2-2. The Devils got the point and took it to OT, and it appeared Paul Cotter won the game, but the goal would get called back after video review determined it was offsides.
At that point, you thought the Devils would lose the game in the shootout. But lo and behold, Cotter and Jesper Bratt scored, and the Devils came away with a two-round shootout win.
That was a character win, given how many times they could have put it away in the third period and overtime.
Quick Hits
It was another rough game for Nemec, who was second to last among Devils skaters in game score. He didn't see the ice after the Wild tied the game at one since he was responsible for Hinostroza. There isn't a good solution here. Dennis Cholowski hasn't looked much better, so the best option is to keep playing Nemec and hope Hamilton returns earlier than expected for the playoffs.
It's been tough sledding for Curtis Lazar this season. He finished with an expected goals share (xG%) of 14.02 percent last night, the lowest among Devils skaters. Once Cody Glass returns, the Devils would be better off playing Justin Dowling as their fourth-line center. I'd even experiment with Cotter at center again and plug Nolan Foote back as LW4. Lazar just hasn't cut it as a fourth-line center this season.
Brian Dumoulin has been a nice addition for the Devils. He hasn't played the difficult minutes that Jonas Siegenthaler did, but he's fit in alongside Johnathan Kovacevic. He had a solid game last night and has been a stabilizing presence defensively since the Devils acquired him at the trade deadline.
Game Score Chart
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick
It was a blunder letting his check go on the first goal, but I didn't think Nemec was terrible before that. It feels like he's getting the Holtz treatment - one mistake (albeit a bad one), and he's benched... But Dillon can do something similarly egregious, and it's all good.
I know, I know... rookie vs veteran. I hope they're not going to ruin his confidence the way Ruff and Fitz did with Holtz. We honestly can't afford another Fitz swing and miss with a top ten pick.