Devils drop Saturday matinee to Ducks

The New Jersey Devils will head into their Bye-Week with a sour taste in their mouths.

The Devils dropped their matchup with the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Saturday afternoon, despite an opening goal by Marcus Johansson. The Devils were up against a stonewall in Anaheim goaltender John Gibson, who after letting in a goal on New Jersey's first shot of the game, was able to stop every other shot that came his way until the Devils final shot of the game.
Here are 10 takeaways from the game:
1. The early morning prior to the game was a busy one for New Jersey, with several roster moves announced. Blake Pietila was sent back to Binghamton after a short stint in New Jersey, while the club made corresponding moves in bringing up both Kurtis Gabriel and Nathan Bastian. For Bastian, it is the first NHL call-up of his hockey career.
On the same day that Bastian was called up, he also made his NHL debut, making the fourth member of the Devils' 2016 draft class to appear in an NHL game. Jesper Bratt, Joey Anderson and Michael McLeod were all drafted the same year as Bastian.
2. In his NHL debut, Bastian also got into his first NHL fight when he dropped the gloves with Ducks defenseman Josh Manson at 7:16 of the second period. Both players were handed a five-minute major penalty.

Bastian finished the matinee with 9:32 of ice time.
3. Off of a Johansson goal, the Devils took a 1-0 lead on the Ducks at 6:50 of the first period. Johansson flipped a backhand shot past Anaheim goaltender Gibson in close while driving to the net for his seventh goal of the season and on the Devils first shot of the game.

Bratt and Will Butcher assisted on the goal for their 16th and 14th assists on the season, respectively.
4. Late in the first period, Devils forward Brian Boyle went awkwardly into the boards and was slow to get up and make his way to the bench. Boyle remained on the Devils bench for a few moments before heading to the team locker room with athletic trainer Kevin Morley. Boyle returned for the second period and finished the game with 15:50 of ice time including 5:12 on the power play.
5. The Devils began the second period down 2-1 to the Ducks and while they had their chances in the second period, they were unable to break through Anaheim goaltender Gibson. New Jersey outshot Anaheim 14-3 in the middle period, which marks the second time this season that the Devils have held their opponent to just three shots in a period. The last time the Devils accomplished that feat was October 27, 2018 against the Florida Panthers.
6. On the day that Kyle Palmieri was named an NHL All Star, replacing an injured Taylor Hall at this year's event, Palmieri laid out six hits against the Anaheim Ducks which marked a season high in hits for the Jersey-native forward. Palmieri's previous high was four hits in a game which he has done four times this season. The six hits matches a career game high for Palmieri, which he's done on two previous occasions (2014, 2016).
7. Former Duck Sami Vatanen as well as Damon Severson lead the Devils in shots on goal with five shots each of the Devils 31 shots on Gibson.
8. New Jersey had ample chances on the power play against the Ducks, with four opportunities. Unfortunately for New Jersey, the Devils were unable to connect with the man advantage and went 0-for-4 in the matinee.
9. Bratt had the Devils second goal of the game, with just 55.1 seconds left in the third period with Mackenzie Blackwood pulled for the extra attacker. The goal was Bratt's fourth of the season and assisted on by Butcher both players connecting a second time, each finishing with two-points against Anaheim.
10. That's it for Devils hockey for the next week as the team takes off on their Bye-Week and NHL All-Star Break. New Jersey head into the break with a 18-23-7 record for 43 points. And after their loss against Anaheim, a home record of 13-6-4.