New Jersey Devils (5-8-4 14pts) vs Ottawa Senators (7-10-1 15pts)
Game Recap:
After a five game road trip across Canada mainly, the New Jersey Devils return home to host the Ottawa Senators. Tonight features a battle between the two teams who are at the bottom of the eastern conference standings. New Jersey would take a 1-0 lead at the 4:54 mark as winger Wayne Simmonds would score on a breakaway. About ten minutes later, Senators Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau would tie the game at 1-1. However, Devils defenseman Will Butcher would give the Devils the lead back 2-1 after the first period.
Unfortunately for the Devils, the second goal at the end of the first period would be their last goal on the evening. The recurring theme of not being able to hold onto a lead continued this evening. In the third period, The Ottawa Senators would go on to score 3 unanswered goals to complete the comeback as they would win by the final score of 4-2. Jean-Gabriel Pageau struck twice and would complete the hat trick and Mark Borowiecki would snap in his second goal of the season from the point. The Devils hope to redeem themselves yet again as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night. 
On Saturday night while on his usual “Coach’s Corner” on Hockey Night in Canada, commentator Don Cherry made some very displeasing & uncomfortable comments about immigrants in Canada. Cherry used his “Coach’s Corner” segment to publicly criticize immigrants who didn’t wear poppy pins while leading up to Canada’s Remembrance Day. These poppy pins are sold by military veterans groups and are they are worn in honor of those who served in the Canadian military.
Don Cherry used the following language Saturday night during his “Coach’s Corner” segment about immigrants below as well as a video to better hear and see the context of what was said:
“I live in Mississauga [Ontario]. Very few people wear the poppy. Downtown Toronto, forget it. Nobody wears the poppy…. Now you go to the small cities. You people … that come here, whatever it is — you love our way of life. You love our milk and honey. At least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada. These guys paid the biggest price for that,” Cherry said.
His words caused a big uprising around social media with many people calling for Don Cherry to be fired. Coach’s Corner” co-host Ron MacLean noticeably during the segment remained silent to these uncomfortable words and was even seen giving his thumbs up approval of what Cherry was saying. Since then, MacLean has released a statement through Sportnet as well as publicly apologizing live on Sportsnet’s “Hometown Hockey” last night for his behavior during the segment below:
#UPDATE: Coach's Corner co-host Ron MacLean has apologized to Canadians for the comments Don Cherry made regarding immigrants, saying in part, "I sat there, did not catch it and did not respond," during the opening of Rogers Hometown Hockey Sunday. https://t.co/sRkX3uyU9tpic.twitter.com/FRdtaaxQdo
To be 100% honest, Don Cherry should have been fired a long time ago. This is not the first time Cherry has used vulgar, displeasing, and/or uncomfortable words about immigrants and especially European NHL players. Unfortunately, the language which he’s been using for years has been given a blind eye to and it should not be a surprise that it was done on Saturday night. In particular, he has been very well known and critical of NHL players from Russia specifically calling out players such as Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, amongst others as well. His views and mindset on today’s modern NHL are very outdated as well, and it was time for him to move on.
The main point here is that Don Cherry was let go for using inappropriate language about immigrants and he needed to finally be held accountable for his actions. It took too long unfortunately to do so. The language that was used by him was very divisive when it shouldn’t be. Hockey and sports in general are meant to be the best of us all and bring fans of the game and human beings together and not divide us. It’s very sad that he made comments like these and he still has these kinds of viewpoints. He even doubled down on his comments as he briefly spoke to the Toronto Sun by stating “I have had my say”. The simple fact that he didn’t want to look at what he said was inappropriate and take responsibility for his actions shows that it was the correct decision to fire him and finally move on.
As for cohost Ron MacLean, it was very disappointing that he stood there silent while Cherry was making the remarks and even gave his thumbs up. However, I am happy that he came out rather quickly to apologize and seemed very humble and genuine about his apology and about what transpired on Saturday night. Hopefully, he learned from this and he’s never a part of something like this again. Otherwise, like Don Cherry he’ll need to be held accountable too.
After tonight, the New Jersey Devils conclude their five game road trip as they take on the Vancouver Canucks. Tonight is the final matchup on the season between brothers & top draft picks in Jack and Quinn Hughes. New Jersey would get on the scoreboard first as Wayne Simmonds would bank in the rebound at the front of the net for his second of his season which was on the power play. Sixty two seconds later, the Devils would strike again as Jesper Bratt would deflect a Damon Severson shot from the point behind Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. The Devils would take that lead going into period number two.
Vancouver would get within one goal in the second period as Brock Besser would score his eighth goal of the season on the power play. JT Miller & Quinn Hughes would get the assists on the goal. However, it wouldn’t be enough as the Devils played solid and sturdy defense to give them the victory as the final score would be 2-1. Jesper Bratt’s goal would stand up to be the game winning goal. New Jersey swept the series against the Canucks as each game was decided by only one goal.
The Devils head back home briefly for two games as they’ll host the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins before going back on the road for one game against the Montreal Canadiens.
New Jersey Devils (4-7-4 12pts)vs Edmonton Oilers (11-5-2 24pts)
Game Recap:
Today, the Devils get back on the horse in hopes of getting back in the win column after suffering a defeat at the hands of the Calgary Flames last night 5-2. Tonight, they are playing their second game in two days, and are playing their third game on this part of the Canadian road trip against the Edmonton Oilers. Unfortunately for the Devil’s tonight, they were unable to stay on the horse. The first period went very well as the first period score would remain deadlocked at 0-0 after the first period.
However, the second period is where the Devils did not play to their structure of what was working well in the first period and everything became unraveled. Edmonton scored all four goals of the game in the second period. The Oilers would get goals from Leon Draisatl, Gaeten Haas, James Neal, & Alex Chiasson. The rest of the game saw the Devils being shut down defensively by the Oilers and they were unable to capitalize on any offensive chances that they had.
After tonight, the New Jersey Devils will conclude the final game of their five game road trip on Sunday afternoon against the Vancouver Canucks. The next game will feature another match up between Brothers and first round draft picks in Jack and Quinn Hughes. In the previous matchup, New Jersey would win 1-0 and younger brother Jack Hughes would score the only goal and first of his young NHL career. The Devils will be looking to get their second victory on this road trip as the only win so far came in a very impressive outing against the Carolina Hurricanes back on November 2nd winning 5-3.
New Jersey Devils (4-6-4 12pts) vs Calgary Flames (10-7-2 22pts)
Game Recap:
Tonight is game two of the Devils four game Canadian road trip as they take on the Calgary Flames. Devils rookie sensation Jack Hughes would get the Devils on the board first as he would break free up the middle of the ice on a pass by Taylor Hall to give his team the early 1-0 lead. Hughes’ goal would be the only scoring in the first period and the Devils would take a 1-0 lead going into the next period.
Derek Ryan would tie the game at the 3:03 mark on a beautiful individual effort. Ryan split between the Devils defenders down the middle and backhanded the puck behind goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood. A couple moments later, New Jersey would regain the lead back as Nikita Gustav would wrist a shot passed Flames goalie David Rittich. However, that would be the final goal the Devils would score of the rest of the night.
Calgary the rest of the way would go on to regain the lead and dominate the rest of the game as they got goals from Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanafin, & Johnny Gaudreau. The New Jersey Devils are back at it tomorrow night as they take on the Edmonton Oilers and are hopeful they can redeem themselves to get back in the win column.
New Jersey Devils (4-5-4 12pts) vs Winnipeg Jets (8-7-1 17pts)
Game Recap
The New Jersey Devils are playing their second out of five games tonight on the road, as they take on the Winnipeg Jets. This is the first time these two teams have met since the Jets miraculously came back to beat the Devils in overtime 5-4 on opening night. Speaking of opening, New Jersey would open up the scoring first as Nico Hischier would backhand the puck into the net as Taylor Hall & Sami Vatanen would set him up for his second goal of the season. Hischier’s goal would stand as the only goal of the period giving the Devils a 1-0 lead after the first intermission.
Winnipeg was able to tie the game in the second period as Andrew Copp would tip in defenseman Josh Morrisey’s shot from the point. The two teams will remain deadlocked at 1-1 as they were go past regulation and overtime. Tonight’s game will be decided in a shoot out where the Devils Will be the only ones the score as they got goals from Nikita Gusev & rookie Jesper Boqvist Who is seal the victory for the Devils. Goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood was stellar in goal tonight for the Devils making 31 saves as he would be the first star of tonight’s game. The New Jersey Devils will win tonight by the final score of 2-1 in a shootout.
New Jersey Devils (2-5-3 7pts) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (6-4-2 14pts)
Game Recap:
After another brief break and having four days off, the New Jersey Devils welcome in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tonight’s game was a very high-scoring affair between both teams. In the first period, the Devils struck quickly at the 1:10 mark on the power play as Kyle Palmieri would score off a pass in front of the net from Wayne Simmonds. Tampa Bay shortly after would tie the game as Odrej Palat would receive a nice pass from Kevin Shattenkirk and fire the puck at the right circle to tie the game at 1-1. Before the end of the period, the Lightning with strike on the power play as Alex Killorn would score his second goal of the season. After the first period, the Lightning would lead 2-1 over the Devils.
The rest of the game proved it was an offensive affair to remember. New Jersey would tie and regain the lead as Jesper Bratt would score twice and Kyle Palmieri would add his second goal of the game. Tampa Bay would receive a goal from Brayden Point however, the New Jersey Devils would lead 4-3 over the Tampa Bay Lightning after two periods.
In the third period, the offense kept on coming from both teams. The Devils would add another early goal as defenseman Sami Vatanen would backhand his shot into the back of the net to give the Devils a 5-3 lead. However, Tampa Bay would rally to take a 6-5 lead on goals from Anthony Cirelli, Matthieu Joseph, & Ondrej Palat (second goal of the game). New Jersey was able to force overtime as Kyle Palmieri would add his third goal of the night for the hat trick as he tied the score up 6-6 with about eight seconds left in regulation. However, Tyler Johnson would end the game quickly in 3 on 3 overtime as he would score the game winner and helped defeat the New Jersey Devils by a final score of 7-6.
Lineups:
New Jersey Devils
#NJDevils didn’t have a morning skate, so had to take a different type of picture.
But here’s your lineup for New Jersey against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. pic.twitter.com/DNvW97yxl2
New Jersey Devils (2-5-2 6pts) vs Arizona Coyotes (6-3-1 13pts)
Game Recap:
After almost a week off to rest and get some valuable practice time in, the New Jersey Devils host the Arizona Coyotes tonight for their first of two matchups on the season. New Jersey got on the board first as Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen would shoot the puck which was then deflected off of Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski’s skates and into the back of the net. A couple moments later, Devils rookie Jack Hughes would score his second goal on the season on the power play, as he would receive a beautiful pass to the right circle that was fired top shelf above Coyotes goalie Anti Rantanen. However before the end of the period, the Coyotes would cut the lead in half as Nick Schmaltz would score his fourth goal on the season. New Jersey would take a 2-1 lead after the first period.
Period two would see each team trade goals and plenty of scoring chances. Michael Grabner of the Coyotes would tie the game 2-2 on a short handed breakaway goal. Pavel Zacha would help the Devils retake the lead as he would score his second goal of the season. However, that would be the last leave the Devils would have for the rest of the night. Oliver Ekman-Larsson would tie the game at 3-3 going into the final period.
Barrey Hayton would score his first NHL goal and give the Coyotes a 4-3 lead early on in the third period. Clayton Keller would add his first goal on the season by scoring on an empty net and securing a 5-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
New Jersey Devils (2-4-2 6pts) vs Vancouver Canucks (4-3-0 8pts)
Game Recap
This afternoon, the New Jersey Devils welcome the Vancouver Canucks to the Garden State for an afternoon matinee matchup. This is also a matchup between two brothers in Jack and Quinn Hughes. Each brother was a top 10 pick in the last two NHL entry drafts. Jack Hughes of the Devils went number one overall in this years draft, while brother Quinn Hughes went number seven overall to the Vancouver Canucks in 2018. It would be the younger brother in Jack Hughes who would score his first goal in the NHL and get his team on the board first on the power play. Taylor Hall would feed Hughes the puck towards the right circle who would then fire the puck into the back of the net. That would be the only goal of the period as the Devils would lead 1-0 over the Canucks.
The second and third periods proved to be underwhelming as each team had very little chances offensively and when each had them, neither could convert. Jack Hughes’ 1st NHL goal would stand to be the only goal of the game and the game winning goal as well. MacKenzie Blackwood would make 24 saves as he earns the shutout and victory. New Jersey has now won two games in a row since their 0-4-2 start to the season. The Devils get some upcoming time off until they play they next Arizona Coyotes at home next Friday. Final score of today’s game would be 1-0.
Yesterday evening, the New Jersey Devils announced they have re-signed their top center Nico Hischier to a 7 year deal worth $50.75 million dollars. Hischier’s contract carries an annual base salary of 7.25 million dollars. In his final season of his contract (2026-2027), he will make 8.5 million. Hischier continues the trend of young stars re-signing with their teams before hitting restricted free agency such as forwards Alex DeBrincat (Blackhawks), Clayton Keller (Arizona Coyotes), and defensemen such as Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators) and Samuel Girard (Colorado Avalanche).
Obviously this is a great move for the Devils as Hischier is a key to the Devils future and continues to show why the Devils were right to draft the Swiss center man first overall back in the 2017 draft. Hischier is a very solid two-way center who can play in all situations and is capable of shutting down another teams top line while putting up points offensively as well. The future looks bright for Hischier and the Devils as they continue to build the foundation of a future Stanley Cup contender.
“He (Ray) gives me that confidence I need, it’s all a player can ask for.†– Nico Hischier @amandacstein sat down with Ray Shero and Nico Hischier after he signed a seven-year contract today. pic.twitter.com/Q5rRdxMLoe
