Devils Can't Solve Bobrovsky, Fall 1-0

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Devils entered the contest seeking a much better effort than the one displayed in the lopsided loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. They got straight to their game and seemed to have their legs early on as they ran out to a 9-2 shot advantage in the first frame. Much like the other night, the hot start went to waste at the 13 minute-mark, as Sam Reinhart made a nice forehand, backhand move through Luke Hughes through the Devils' zone and roofed a puck past Jake Allen. It's hard to blame Allen, as it was truly a perfect shot from a true goal scorer.

Little did we know that would end up being the game's lone goal, but there was plenty of action from both sides. The Devils would receive the game's first two power plays during the second period. One thing to note is that it seemed as though Paul Maurice's game plan was to heavily pressure whoever had the puck for the Devils' power play. I hadn't seen a more aggressive penalty kill in a while. This could become the new game plan for teams against a Devils group missing Jack Hughes. It did not help that it felt like the Devils had more chances with the second unit out there than the big guns.

The third period was one where the Devils felt like the much better team. You felt the desperation and effort, especially in the final five minutes. As noted in my game preview, this was the second straight game the Devils went up against a future Hall of Fame goaltender, and it absolutely felt like it. No matter what the Devils threw at him, it always seemed to end up in his chest. With Jake Allen pulled for the extra attacker, the Devils had chance after chance, but in the end, they ran out of time. It was the first time the team had been shut out this season. They fall to 13-6-1 and will end the road trip in Philadelphia on Saturday night.

Key Takeaways

• It's Jake Allen's net for now. After conceding the first goal, there were stretches where the Devils were hemmed in their own end, and each time Allen stood on his head to give the team a fighting chance. With Markstrom's struggles and now his "tweak", we should only see Markstrom on a back-to-back for at least the next couple of weeks.

• As mentioned previously, teams will do their homework on the Devils' power play unit without Jack Hughes, and you'll see a more aggressive style of kill. Hughes is a possession monster, and without him, someone will have to take over in his absence (Jesper Bratt, we're looking at you).

• You feel much better about dropping this game than you do about Tuesday night's game. Nonetheless, it's easy to come away frustrated that the Devils could not even grab a point in a game where it felt like they were the better team. All attention should move to Philadelphia on Saturday to close out the road trip on a positive note.