The New Jersey Devils fell to the Utah Mammoth 5-3 Tuesday night at the Prudential Center. New Jersey is now 1-2-0.
In the third matchup of the season, the Devils were looking to get back on track after a brutal 6-0 loss to the Islanders Saturday night. Jake Allen was in net for his second start of the year, facing off against Utah’s Karel Vejmelka.
They’d find themselves a man down 10 seconds into the game when Timo Meier was called for a high stick. Using the power play to their advantage, Clayton Keller scored on a slap shot from the right point. The Mammoth were now 7-for-10 on the power play thus far in the season and the Devils were down 1-0.
After an exchange of penalties between the two, New Jersey found themselves on a 5-on-3 advantage with under six minutes remaining in the period. They’d waste no time and score when Luke Evangelista tipped it in on a shot from Jack Hughes. It was Evangelista’s first goal as a Devil and their first in nearly 80 minutes of game time.
Utah once again scored early, when MacKenzie Weegar got one a little under two minutes into the second. With the goalie Allen on the ground, Weegar had the puck at the crease and shoved it in. Just a short time later, New Jersey got one to keep it tied when Timo Meier was along the boards and under pressure. He threw it at the net and in front was Evangelista who tipped it for the second time and scored for the second time. One of the Devils newest additions was at the right place at the right time.
The Mammoth got the lead back around the 12 minute mark when Dylan Guenther threw a pass to an open Nick Schmaltz, who was on the goal line. With no one on him, he’d skate in front of Allen, shoot it, and score for their second power play goal of the game.
Before the end of period, they’d add one more to the back of the net for good measure with less than a minute left when Lawson Crouse scored at ease on an open puck after multiple shots and sequences and Allen unable to defend. After two periods, it was 4-2 Utah.
Something needed to give for New Jersey. They were digging themselves a hole with these penalties as two of the three within the first 40 minutes resulted in power play goals. Having one more chance on the man advantage than Utah, they were unable to cash in points.
Halfway through the third period, they showed they still had some life when Jesper Boqvist scored in front of the net. The former Devil got his first goal after being away for three seasons after he backhanded it past Vejmelka at the end of a spin-like move. It was now 4-3 and the game far from over.
A late game rally of any sort came to an end when Utah went back up two with just over three minutes to go. A turnover in the neutral zone led to a breakaway finished by Vincent Trocheck, where the former New York Ranger scored his first Mammoth goal.
Down two with such little time, the Devils constantly crashed the net, hoping one would get by. On a questionable call where a potential goal by Meier was deemed a dead play, they were still able to get a power play out of it when Weegar was called for holding with under 90 seconds remaining. In the end, they were unable to utilize and went on to lose 5-3.
This was a tough loss for the Devils. While they were unable to stay disciplined and took multiple penalties, they couldn’t get much going on offense. It was clear the Mammoth were in control most of the game. They’ll have plenty of time to recharge and regroup as their next game is Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks home at ‘The Rock’.
