The New Jersey Devils were defeated by the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Sunday night in Anaheim. The Devils fell behind early, conceding two goals in the first period due to defensive errors. Despite generating several scoring opportunities, they were unable to get past Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal until the third period.
“There were some sequences early on in the first period that we played really well,” said Jesper Bratt. “We showed exactly how this game was going to be for us, we played good, we got the puck down in their zone and small couple of mistakes we started letting off the gas a little bit and they take advantage right away and they’ve got guys who know how to put the puck in the net.”
Anaheim increased its lead in the second period when Cutter Gauthier scored from a sharp angle. The Devils responded in the third period with Jack Hughes scoring his tenth goal of the season on a rush with Dawson Mercer, who had just returned from serving a penalty. This sequence followed Mercer defending captain Nico Hischier after he was hit into the boards.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe commented on his team’s effort: “I did mention it to our team, we showed, there’s a reserve tank in there. You can tap into it, you’ve got a little more to give, you’ve got to convince yourself of it. That’s part of why I think, giving up the first goal, and early, is a gut-punch, you’re trying to get going, you want to have a good day to finish the road trip and then you’re down again early, so we’ve got to figure that out and not give up that chance and that goal.”
The loss concluded New Jersey’s road trip with one win and three losses. Keefe addressed challenges faced during this stretch: “Certainly, we don’t like much about what happened on this road trip. Injuries are a factor, fatigue is a factor for sure, but you can only use that for so long, but we’ve got to get back to work.”
The first two Anaheim goals resulted from Devils’ mistakes—one following miscommunication between Dennis Cholowski and Simon Nemec leading to an odd-man rush for Beckett Senneke; another after Dawson Mercer’s pass was intercepted by Jackson LaCombe before Frank Vatrano scored.
Keefe adjusted forward lines after falling behind early:
Noesen-Hughes-Bratt
Meier-Hischier-Mercer
Palat-Lammikko-Gritsyuk
Cotter-Glendening-Halonen
Simon Nemec reached his 100th NHL game milestone during this match at age 21.
New Jersey played its eighth game in 13 nights while Anaheim had played just three games over eight days. Keefe noted: “That’s a factor, there’s no question. It’s part of the NHL and that’s what you get at different points in the schedule. You’ve got to try to manage your way through it. I didn’t feel like we were ourselves here today, they certainly felt a lot quicker and even more skilled and talented than us in terms of how they move the puck and the plays that they made.”
Connor Brown missed his second straight game due to injury but remains day-to-day according to Keefe.
The Devils will return home next Thursday for their game against the Montreal Canadiens at Prudential Center.
