“Finally, we found a way to win," Palat said of the tight game where they protected a lead for over 30 minutes. "We’ve got to be comfortable with those types of games. Schmid stood on his head. It wasn’t our best but we need to win those types of games.”
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff was happy with what he saw, despite the team giving up 39 shots.
“We did a good job of staying inside. First two periods, besides a couple turnovers on puck play just inside the blue line we defended really well,” he stated, adding that he liked what he saw from his goaltender. “Solid performance. Helped us win a hockey game. There’s a couple times they could have gained some momentum but he made some saves for us.”
Akira Schmid liked how his team played in front of him.
“We made some timely blocked shots," said Schmid. "Most shots came from the outside. Once we got inside they did a good job getting sticks on it or clearing rebounds.”
After a back-and-forth opening period, the Devils struck for the game’s first goal. Nico Hischier sent the puck cross-ice to John Marino at the right face-off circle. His blast was redirected in front by Ondrej Palat to make it 1-0.
“Good play by Nico and Johnny," said Palat. "Great pass to me and it hit my skate. Lucky enough, it went in.”
Shots on goal after one were 10-7 for Seattle.
Devils had a series of chances in the opening few minutes of the second period but could not convert. Alex Holtz had the puck at the top of the crease and goaltender Philip Grubauer out of position but the puck just wouldn’t go in.
The Kraken tied the game seven minutes into the second. Alex Wennberg from behind the net spotted Tye Kartye in front at the hashmarks and Kartye quickly fired it past Akira Schmid.
Two minutes later, the Devils regained the lead. Jesper Bratt took the puck around the Kraken net and found Simon Nemec between the circles. Nemec made no mistake, whipping the puck in for his first career NHL goal.
“I didn’t think I did a celly or something," smiled Nemec. "I didn’t look happy but I was.”
Nemec added that he was very happy with how he played overall in this one.
“It’s good for me to play big minutes. I didn’t expect it. The coaches trust me. I feel good in this role and I try to do my best.”
Ruff really liked what he saw from Nemec on the night.
“Another strong game," said Ruff. "He was able to jump in, find a lane and get a shot. His hockey sense and ability to pick the right time has been good.”
“First goal is always something you’ll remember forever.”
Erik Haula was called for tripping with 8:42 to go in the second, giving Seattle its first power play but it only lasted six seconds before Kailer Yamamoto was whistled for slashing.
After 40 minutes, shots on goal were 22-14 for the Kraken.
Through the first nine minutes of the final frame, the Kraken had five shots and the Devils had none. Brendan Smith then took a penalty to give the Seattle power play a chance to tie the game.
Devils killed off the penalty but by the time the minor had concluded, shots on goal were 10-0 for the home side in the third.
With 4:24 to go in the third, Brian Dumolin tripped up Palat along the boards in the Kraken zone to give the Devils power play a chance to take some time off the clock. Unfortunately for the Devils, the best scoring chance on the man advantage went to Seattle who had a two-on-one. Schmid managed to bat away a wrist shot from Jared McCann at the right face-off circle.
Shots on goal in the third period were 17-3 for Seattle; 39-17 in the game overall.
