Devils' playoff chances shrink after falling to the Senators 5-2

Ice Hockey, New Jersey Devils, Professional

March 24, 2024

The New Jersey Devils lost to the Ottawa Senators, 5-2, on Saturday in Newark.

The Devils came out strong and confident, with a great starting lineup. The Senators scored oddly fast at the beginning of the first period; the goal was an unassisted short-handed goal from Mathieu Joseph that slipped through Josh Allen’s legs. The Devils started to have trouble keeping the puck on the opposing team’s side. This makes it difficult for them to have the chance to score and for the whole team to also work harder to try and help the goalie.

New Jersey passed the puck around with little to no shooting, and many of the shots went wide or completely away from the team. New Jersey seemed a bit off, even after coming off a winning streak over the last three games. This game was intense, thrilling, and a bit frustrating due to some of the calls that were made. Some weren’t as necessary as others.

After the first period ended in favor of the Senators, the Devils came rushing in to start the second. Two goals were put in less than five minutes at the start of this period. The Rock was fired up as Jesper Bratt picked up his 23rd goal of the season to break open the second period, just 23 seconds into the period.

Tomáš Nosek scored not long after, with the assists going to Ondřej Palát and Dawson Mercer. Nosek’s goal gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead for some time. Unfortunately, the Devils gave up the advantage when the Senators scored three consecutive goals to give Ottawa a 4-2 lead.

There was very little crowd excitement going into the third period. About ten minutes into the period, Drake Batherson scored the Senators' final goal of the night. The Devils never scored this period. From then on, the puck played back and forth, shifts changing, and the Devils were spread out completely, scavenging for the puck.

Multiple shots from New Jersey were put on goal toward goalie Joonas Korpisalo. In between that, there was tons of passing over the amount of shooting, which one goal could have been scored. The Devils got a boost of confidence but did not obtain it again after the first few minutes of the second period. It was a great game, but the Devils were not their best.

New Jersey still has a chance at making the playoffs, but the odds are growing smaller by the day. Before this game, the Devils needed to go 10-3-0 to have a chance of making the playoffs. This game shrunk the margin of error, so they will have to work even harder in their next few games.