Back
The Washington Capitals threw 47 shots at Connor Hellebuyck on Saturday night, 24 of them in the third period, and the New Jersey Devils still left Capital One Arena with a 7-4 win and a sweep of the home-and-home. Hellebuyck made 43 saves and is 7-0-0 since Sunny Mehta brought him in. The offense came from the bottom of the ice-time chart: Lenni Hämeenaho had a goal and two assists in 8:06, Jesper Boqvist had a goal and two assists in 9:29, Evan Rodrigues scored twice and Nico Hischier added a shorthanded goal. Anton Silaev made his NHL debut, and the Devils are 15-6-0 with four days off before the Montreal Canadiens come to Newark.
Around the league, Elliotte Friedman says the Philadelphia Flyers told Matvei Michkov he isn’t getting traded, Nathan MacKinnon is out at least a month for the Colorado Avalanche, and Rick Bowness is stepping away from the Columbus Blue Jackets bench on a day-to-day basis, with the Devils seeing Columbus twice later this month. The links are below.
Saves by Hellebuyck on 47 shots, 23 of them in the third period |
|
|---|---|
Hellebuyck’s record since the Devils acquired him |
|
Capitals’ shot edge in the third period |
|
Points each for Hämeenaho (8:06 of ice time) and Boqvist (9:29) |
|
Special-teams goals for the Devils: two on the power play (2-for-4) and Hischier’s shorthanded goal |
Here’s the recap of the Devils’ 7-4 win in Washington, and my star of the night was Hellebuyck, even with Hämeenaho and Boqvist putting up three points apiece. It was 3-3 midway through the second before Timo Meier scored on the power play 14 seconds after Arseny Gritsyuk drew a hooking call, and Hischier’s shorthanded goal 56 seconds into the third made it 5-3. Brett Pesce missed a second straight game, and Vladislav Kolyachonok came out of the lineup two days after scoring Thursday’s winner.
Daniel Amoia says it’s time for the Devils power play to make one crucial change: Dougie Hamilton, not Luke Hughes, should quarterback the top unit. The Devils were 24th in the league at 18.8% through 20 games, and just 12.7% outside of two big nights against Vancouver and Edmonton. Going back to 2023-24, about 55% of Luke’s power-play shot attempts have been blocked, compared with about 35% of Hamilton’s.
The latest Devils Postgame Live: breaking down the Devils’ 7-4 win over the Capitals.
YouTube · Apple Podcasts · · Amazon Music · TikTok
On Saturday Headlines, Elliotte Friedman said the Flyers told Michkov face to face that he’s staying. Friedman says Daniel Briere and Keith Jones both met with him this week and made it clear he’s part of the team’s future and “not getting traded,” and that the Flyers asked some of the younger players how they felt about him and got positive feedback. Michkov, 21, has 11 goals and 16 points in 22 games, and Philadelphia beat Columbus 4-3 on Saturday.
Bowness is stepping aside on a day-to-day basis due to health concerns, Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell announced Saturday. Bowness, 71, missed Thursday’s loss to Tampa Bay, won’t travel with the team Monday while he undergoes more testing, and assistant Don Granato will run the bench in the meantime. Columbus lost again Saturday and is 7-11-0, and the Blue Jackets play the Devils on Nov. 23 in Newark and Nov. 25 in Columbus.
Aarif Deen has Jared Bednar’s update: MacKinnon is out at least a month and Cale Makar about two weeks with lower-body injuries from Thursday’s game in Ottawa. MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 30 points in 20 games, and Brock Nelson moved up to the top line. Nelson scored Saturday night in a 4-1 win in Montreal, which ended the Canadiens’ 12-game run without a regulation loss before they visit the Devils on Wednesday.
Bob Duff writes that the Detroit Red Wings blanked the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 to end a five-game losing streak. Daniil Tarasov stopped all 31 shots after going 0-4 against Tampa Bay in his career, Lucas Raymond scored on a breakaway, and the Lightning lost at home for the first time this season after an 8-0 start. William Wallinder left in the third after a knee-on-knee collision.
Jack Bushman has the Chicago Blackhawks blowing a 4-0 lead to the Winnipeg Jets in a 5-4 shootout loss at the United Center. It’s the second time in 11 days the Jets came back from four down to win, Gabriel Vilardi tied it with 1:13 left and the goalie pulled, and Connor Bedard hit the post in overtime.
Dan Kingerski writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins are slipping away after a 4-1 home loss to the Ottawa Senators on the night Marc-Andre Fleury went into the team’s Hall of Fame. Ottawa outshot Pittsburgh 17-5 in the third, and the Penguins fell to 7-11-2, with Erik Karlsson already in the trade talk.
Lou DiPietro looks at why the New York Rangers’ upcoming five-day break could delay Sean Durzi’s return. Durzi has been out since Oct. 26 and is skating in a non-contact jersey, and Mike Sullivan said the Rangers “would be foolish not to consider” holding him out of Monday’s game against Montreal with nothing on the schedule until Carolina on Nov. 22.