Game Recap: New Jersey Devils @ Columbus Blue Jackets 12/21/19

New Jersey Devils 11-19-5 27pts) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (16-14-6 38pts)

Game Recap:

After suffering a defeat last night against the league leading Washington Capitals, the New Jersey Devils are back at it tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Devils rookie goaltender Gilles Senn would be making his first National Hockey League start tonight. Unfortunately for the Devils, the same story of losing as it’s been so far this season continues. Oliver Bjorkstrand would score twice for the Jackets in the first period. However, Devils defenseman Will Butcher would wrist a shot from the left circle to get the Devils within one goal. After the first period, the Columbus Blue Jackets would lead the New Jersey Devils 2-1.

Unfortunately for the Devils, Butcher’s goal would be the only one they would score on the night. New Jersey as it’s been all season can’t seem to get much going offensively or play effectively on defense. Vladislav Gavrikov would score in the lone goal in the second period. Zach Werenski and Gustav Nyquist would add empty net goals in the third period for the Blue Jackets. Columbus went onto defeat the Devils by a final score of 2-1. New Jersey is back in action on Monday night at the Chicago Blackhawks before the league wide holiday break.

Lineups

New Jersey Devils

Columbus Blue Jackets

Game Highlights

Final Stats

NJ-1 CBJ-5

Shots: 22 40

Hits: 22 15

PP: 0/3 0/5

Faceoffs: 42.4% 57.6%

Game Recap: New Jersey Devils vs Washington Capitals 12/20/19

New Jersey Devils (11-18-5 27pts) vs Washington Capitals (25-6-5 55pts)

Game Recap:

Last night the New Jersey Devils welcomed in the league leading Washington Capitals to the Garden State for a very challenging matchup. New Jersey wore their heritage red, green, and white jerseys. The Devils would get on the scoreboard first as Kyle Palmieri would tip in a Nico Hischier shot behind Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov. However for the Devils, the Capitals showed why they’re currently at the top of the league standings and the Devils are at the bottom. Washington struck twice before the end of the first period as they got goes from Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead over the Devils.

Blake Coleman would tie things up 2-2 early in the second period on a 2 on 1 play as Nikita Gusev would assist on the goal. Nicklas Backstrom for the Capitals would score another late period goal to help his team retake the lead and head into the third period upfront 3-2.

The third period saw the Capitals overpower the Devils as they got goals from New Jersey native John Carlson, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Richard Panik. Miles Wood did add his fourth goal on the season however, it was far too late to help win the game. The Washington Capitals won by a final score of 6-3. New Jersey is back in action tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena at 7pm EST.

Lineups:

New Jersey Devils

Washington Capitals

First Period Highlights

Second Period Highlights

Third Period Highlights

Final Stats

NJ-3 WSH-6

Shots: 27 29

Hits: 16 13

PP: 1/3 0/1

Faceoffs: 50% 50%

 

Breaking News: Devils trade Taylor Hall to Arizona

After all the rumors and speculation the last few weeks or so, the New Jersey Devils have finally traded star winger Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes beat out competitors such as the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, and Edmonton Oilers amongst others. The move was completed right before the NHL’s roster freeze which is effective on December 19th…full details of the trade are seen below:

My Reaction:

I’ve been saying for the past few weeks that it was time for the Devils to trade Taylor Hall. The team is not ready to compete for the playoffs and things will continue to get worse before it gets better. New Jersey felt they were getting a much more sizable deal from the Coyotes then they would’ve gotten from other suitors for Hall. The Devils did the right thing by getting as many assets as they could get to help build a better team in the future. The draft picks in particular will help add more young talent to the equation and continuing to replenish their minor league system. They did the opposite and learned from the New York Islanders mistake as they should’ve traded John Tavares and got something for him. Instead he walked away to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Islanders got nothing. Also, Hall has become a problem and distraction in the locker room with his inability to take criticism from his own fan base and media. The Devils need the opposite of the character he’s shown this season in particular. Hall also clearly showed he didn’t want to re-sign with the Devils and better trade someone who clearly doesn’t want to be around anymore. Overall, very good trade and haul for the New Jersey Devils!

 

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Game Recap: New Jersey Devils @ Dallas Stars 12/10/19

New Jersey Devils (9-16-5 23pts) @ Dallas Stars (18-11-3 39pts)

Game Recap:

Tonight, the New Jersey Devils continue their four game Western Conference road trip as they take on the Dallas Stars. Tonight’s game bet the two teams didn’t feature much action on the scoreboard and was settled pretty early on.

Dallas scored the only goals of the game in the first period as they received goals from Radek Faksa and Joe Pavelski. New Jersey is still struggling to find ways to be consistent, putting pucks in the back of the net, & keeping them out of their own net. The Devils are still searching for their first win under interim head coach Alain Nasreddine since Coach John Hynes was fired approximately a week ago. Over the weekend the Devils will conclude their road trip with back to back games against the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes.

 

Lineups:

New Jersey Devils

 

Dallas Stars

 

Game Highlights

https://twitter.com/dallasstars/status/1204582433489862659?s=21

 

Final Stats     NJ-0         DAL-2

Shots:              26              35

Hits:                26               20

PP:                  0/3              0/5

Faceoffs:      33.3%         66.8%

 

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Game Recap: New Jersey Devils @ Nashville Predators 12/7/19

New Jersey Devils (9-15-5 23pts) @ Nashville Predators (13-10-5 31pts)

 

Game Recap:

After last night’s shootout loss to the Blackhawks, the New Jersey Devils head to the “Music City” to take on the Nashville Predators. The Predators would kick the game off with an early goal forty six seconds in as Daniel Carr would score his first goal on the season. Less than a minute and a half later, Dante Fabbro would add his third goal of the game to give the Predators an early 2-0 lead. However the lead would not hold as the Devils would strike twice to tie the game back up at 2-2. New Jersey would get goals from Jesper Bratt & Travis Zajac respectively. After two periods, the game would be tied 2-2.

Period two would feature three goals combined as Nashville struck twice and New Jersey scored once. The Predators would get goals from Yakov Trenin (1st NHL goal) and Fillip Forsberg, while the Devils would Kyle Palmieri’s eleventh goal on the season. Nashville would take a 4-3 lead going into the final period.

Unfortunately for the Devils, they couldn’t keep up with the Predators as they would get goals from Nick Bonino and Rocco Grimaldi. Taylor Hall did add his sixth goal on the season for the Devils in period three. Nashville would win tonight’s matchup by a final score of 6-4 in a game full of offense. New Jersey back in action on Tuesday night as they take on the Dallas Stars.

 

Lineups:

New Jersey Devils

 

Nashville Predators

 

First Period Highlights

 

Second Period Highlights

https://twitter.com/predsnhl/status/1203502858219524096?s=21

https://twitter.com/njdevils/status/1203503583565627397?s=21

 

Third Period Highlights

 

Final Stats

 

 

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Game Recap: New Jersey Devils vs Chicago Blackhawks 12/6/19

New Jersey Devils (9-14-5 23pts) vs Chicago Blackhawks (12-12-5 29pts)

Game Recap:

Good evening Devils fans! Tonight your New Jersey Devils welcome in the Chicago Blackhawks into the Garden State for the second game of their short home stand. The Devils are in their second game of the post John Hynes era and are looking to get interim head coach Alain Nasreddine his first NHL win. New Jersey would strike first as Taylor Hall would wrist a shot behind Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford to give the Devils a 1-0 lead on the power play. Hall’s goal would be the only goal of the first period.

In the second period, the Blackhawks would tie the game 1-1 as Alex DeBrincat would backhand a shot behind Devils goalie MacKenzie Blackwood off a feed from Patrick Kane. It would be DeBrincat’s seventh goal of the season and on the power play.

Period three saw each team get offensive chances but neither could score in regulation.  Three on three overtime would occur but, yet again neither team could decided it in overtime either. In the shootout is where it would be decided. Chicago would win this game in a shootout as they got goals from Jonathan Toewes, Patrick Kane, & rookie Kirby Dach would score the deciding goal. The final score was 2-1 in favor of the Blackhawks in a shootout. Tomorrow night, the New Jersey Devils are back in action as they take on the Nashville Predators.

 

Lineups:

New Jersey Devils

 

Chicago Blackhawks

 

First Period Highlights

Second Period Highlights

https://twitter.com/njdevils/status/1203130778298785793?s=21

Third Period Highlights

https://twitter.com/nhlblackhawks/status/1203139664036716544?s=21

OT/Shootout Highlights

https://twitter.com/njdevils/status/1203142880178704385?s=21

 

Final Stats      NJ-2       CHI-1

Shots:                30           29

Hits:                   18          13

Power Play:    1/4          1/2

Faceoffs:        52.7%.    47.3%

 

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Game Recap: New Jersey Devils vs Vegas Golden Knights 12/3/19

New Jersey Devils (9-14-4 22pts) vs Vegas Golden Knights 15-11-4 34pts)

 

Game Recap:

Unless you live under a rock, the New Jersey Devils earlier today fired their now former head coach John Hynes. Hynes and the Devils have vastly underachieved which subsequently cost him his job today. Interim head coach Alain Nasreddine would be making his NHL coaching debut. After today’s breaking news, the Devils would welcome the Vegas Golden Knights into town. It would be Kyle Palmieri would score his tenth goal on the season to score the only goal of the first period. After the first period, the Devils would own a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, newly acquired forward Chandler Stephenson would score his first goal in a Golden Knights jersey to tie the game up 1-1. However, Devils winger Jesper Bratt would give the Devils their lead back off a cross ice feed from Damon Severson. After two periods, the New Jersey Devils would tale a 2-1 lead going into the third and final period.

As the theme has been so far this season, the Devils were unfortunately able to hold a lead. Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marcheseault would score a natural hat trick and would win the game for his team by a final score of 4-3. Nico Hischier brought the game back within one goal for the Devils, obviously it wasn’t enough. The Devils are back in action on Friday night as they host the Chicago Blackhawks.

 

Lineups:

New Jersey Devils

 

Vegas Golden Knights

 

First Period Highlights

 

Second Period Highlights

 

Third Period Highlights

 

Final Stats       NJ-3        VGK-4

Shots:               35            30

Hits:                 23            19

PP:                  0/2            1/3

Faceoffs:      46.3%       53.7%

 

 

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Breaking News: NJ Devils Fire Head Coach John Hynes

Good evening Devils fans! Just hours before face off tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights, the New Jersey Devils decided to fire head coach John Hynes and replace him with assistant coach Alain Nasreddine to be their interim head coach. New Jersey has fallen well below expectations and are ranked towards the bottom of the National Hockey League standings. The big offseason moves were supposed to help get the Devils back into the playoffs. Unfortunately, this team has vastly under achieved and aren’t getting the results that they were hoping for going into the season. The National Hockey League is a what have you done for me lately type of league and John Hynes was another causality of that effect.

 

My Reaction: It was about time this happened! I’ve been very clear in previous articles that I have never been a big fan of John Hynes as the head coach of the Devils. Looking at his career in the minor leagues, nothing about him to me ever really screamed head coach material. His in game tactics and his overall hockey systems just don’t work with this team. I also have never been a big fan of how he handles the media either. Not saying he’s a bad guy, in fact he’s a classy stand up type of person/coach. When watching his press conferences, his explanations for his decision making never really made much sense.  I never felt like I ever got a real explanation or understanding of his decision making process. There have been times this season where Hynes kept putting certain players out in tight knit games that shouldn’t have been out on the ice. This team has blown a lot of leads this season when it should have lead to more wins and it’s what cost John Hynes his job. As the saying goes, “You are what your record says you are” and it says he did not coach very well and couldn’t get the best out of his players. Especially after GM Ray Shero went out and acquired players such as PK Subban, Wayne Simmonds, Nikita Gusev, & drafting number one overall pick Jack Hughes to add to skills players like Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier. You would’ve thought this team would play well under him after making the playoffs two years ago. Unfortunately it was not the case. This season was supposed to be about the Devils getting back to the playoffs. Instead, they took another giant step back from last year‘s terrible season and showed no signs of progressing. This was the right move and quite honestly should’ve been made a few weeks ago. This is the first time in 10 years since GM Ray Shero has fired a coach since he fired Michel Therrien when he was the GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Time will tell how this team responds and what will happen going forward.

 

*Feature photo courtesy of the NHL.

 

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Game Recap: New Jersey Devils @ Buffalo Sabres 12/2/19

New Jersey Devils (9-14-4 22pts) vs Buffalo Sabres (14-10-5 33pts)

 Game Recap:

Tonight, the New Jersey Devils took a quick trip to upstate New York to take on the Buffalo Sabres. Unfortunately for the Devils, this game became a complete and total joke very quickly for them. Buffalo exploded for five goals in the first period alone. Sabres goals would come Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner, Connor Sheary twice, and rookie Rasmus Aspland who scored his first goal in the national hockey league. After the first period, the Devils would trail the Sabres 5-0.

New Jersey would score their only goal of the game in the second period. Devils Center Nico Hischier would corral the puck off a rebound and dangles it around goaltender Linus Ulmark before lifting the shot into the back of the net. Buffalo added their two final goals of the game as scoring would come from Victor Olofson and Henry Jokiharju. New Jersey would get crushed and fall to the Buffalo Sabres by the final score of 7-1.  The Devils are back in action tomorrow night as they host the Vegas Golden Knights.

 

Lineups:

New Jersey Devils

 

Buffalo Sabres

 

Game Highlights

 

Final Stats     NJ-1       BUF-7

Shots:                45           32

Hits:                  22            09

PP:                    1/4           1/2

Faceoffs         47.3%      52.7%

 

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TXHT Opinion: NJ Devils SHOULD trade Taylor Hall

To say this season hasn’t turned out the way Devils fans all hoped would be a complete and utter understatement. This season has been a disaster when it was supposed to be a big step forward towards building a legitimate playoff team. Instead we have a team that doesn’t play with consistent structure and discipline which is a coaching problem and a whole other story. Anyway, since the season has and will continue to keep free falling, it would be best if the New Jersey Devils trade Taylor Hall as soon as possible and get assets that can help this team now and in the future. You don’t want another John Tavares situation where you wind up losing your best player for nothing! Trade talks between the New Jersey Devils and other teams have started to pick up rather quickly. Obviously, it would be better not to trade Hall as he is the Devils most dynamic offensive player they have. However, it appears a trade out of New Jersey is inevitable nonetheless. From everything you hear in the rumor mill, it sounds like Taylor Hall won’t re-sign in New Jersey anyway and wants to see what he can get on the open free agent market. It’s not hard to sell Taylor Hall to anyone and he’ll have plenty of teams who’ll throw plenty of cash his way.

Besides the fact the New Jersey Devils are towards the bottom of the league standings, there’s another reason I think the team should and will trade Taylor Hall. It really bothered me at one point this season to hear Hall complain about the Devils fans booing the team for his team’s poor performance this season. The team and him haven’t lived up to the expectations of being a playoff contender and have been a complete and total disappointment. Hall is and should be aware that the Tri-State area is very tough and critical of all of their sports teams. Hall has shown that he clearly can’t handle a market that’s tough and critical. He also couldn’t handle the criticism in Edmonton either when the team couldn’t live up to expectations. Why keep around a guy that doesn’t want to be here and can’t handle fair criticism? Devils teams of the past had guys who can handle criticism and adversity. It brought some of those teams the three Stanley Cups that they have. As gifted of an offensive player as Hall is, its time to move on and help build this team for the future. The Devils are in an excellent position with their salary cap management. They have plenty of cap space to spend and have the ability to add more offensive weapons if they so desire.

What a Taylor Hall trade should look like:

1st round draft pick, top level young NHL roster player or NHL ready prospect, and another prospect or draft pick. Trade will most likely be conditional as well if Hall re-signs with the team that acquires him.

Prediction: Taylor Hall is traded by the end of 2019 or at the trade deadline in February 2020