GAME STORY: Bruins 3, Devils 2 (SO)

NEWARK, NJ -After battling back in the third period and tying the Bruins, the Devils fell in a shootout to the Boston Bruins in their home opener. Miles Wood and Ty Smith had goals for the home team while Brad Marchand and Brett Richie scored for the visitors. Smith made his NHL debut tonight in addition to scoring his first NHL goal.

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GAME DAY
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POST-GA
Full Highlights
POST-GAME REPORT | Amanda Stein wraps up the game
POST-GAME RAW | Blackwood and Hughes
POST-GAME RAW | Smith
POST-GAME RAW | Wood
POST-GAME RAW | Devils head coach Lindy Ruff
WHAT'S NEXT
The Devils have a rematch with the Boston Bruins on Saturday. The game can be seen on MSG+ and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 1:08 p.m. ET.
Both teams struggled in the beginning of the game to get momentum and offensive production, as there was only one total shot on goal through the first four minutes. As time continued on in the first twenty minutes, special teams became a significant part of the game.
New Jersey faced their first penalty kill six minutes into the period, when Jesper Boqvist was sent off for slashing. Yegor Sharangovich got a shorthanded chance, and although he didn't score, he drew a penalty. Both teams faced off in 4-on-4 hockey for 58 seconds. The Devils killed off penalty and had their first power play of the night for just shy of a minute. The team's power play was unable to score and the score remained 0-0 following both team's first power plays.
New Jersey had their second power play opportunity with 6:41 on the clock in the first frame. However, the Bruins penalty kill was strong throughout and the Devils were unable to find consistent offensive zone time with the man advantage.
The Devils went on the penalty kill once again, this time with 2:58 on the clock. Blackwood had a big stop but the Bruins would score on the power play not long after. Brad Marchand tapped in a pass from Matt Grzelcyk to get the Bruins on the board, 1-0.
After the first period, the visitors led 1-0 with a 16-4 shots advantage.
Just three minutes into the second period, the home team got their third power play of the night, but were unable to tie up the game. The Devils had a solid stretch of time in the offensive zone, and drew another Boston penalty for their fourth man-advantage of the night. New Jersey had more control and possession during this power play including a solid chance by Nikita Gusev. The Devils were unable to convert on the power play but showed more control on that outing.
Boston went on the power play with nine minutes left in the second period. Andreas Johnsson served the Devils penalty for too many men on the ice. Ryan Murray came up big when he blocked a shot and cleared the puck. The Devils killed off their penalty without allowing Boston to increase their lead.
Tensions rose between the teams throughout the first two periods with several scrums especially in the second half of the second period.
With four seconds left in the second period, Pavel Zacha drove to the net on a breakaway but was unable to score on the doorstep. The Devils trailed the Bruins 1-0 at the end of the second frame. Boston continued to out shoot the Devils that period with a 26-11 shot differential.
New Jersey came out stronger in the third period, and saw increased offensive zone time including a strong effort from Jack Hughes that almost led to a goal. Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood continued his strong play especially through the Devils penalty seven minutes into the final frame.
Following the Devils penalty kill, Miles Wood opened the scoring for the Devils with 11:09 left in the game. Miles Wood scored on a breakaway after Jack Hughes was able to cause a Boston turnover in the neutral zone.
"[Hughes] did a great job drawing over that guy, and then I knew that when I was flying down the left wing there that Rask would be playing a little deep in his net just based off the first period," said Wood. "So I just did a quick shot there and I think I caught him by surprise but that's just how it went in, you know a goal's a goal for sure."
Although the Bruins outshot the Devils 33-15 through the first 50 minutes, the score was tied at 1.
Less than a minute after Wood's goal, the Devils went on the power play once again. New Jersey's man-advantage lasted for one minute as Wood was called for goaltender interference. The Devils were two seconds away from killing off the penalty when the Bruins scored, this time from Brett Richie. Brad Marchand fed Richie a cross-ice pass and Richie's quick shot beat Blackwood.
However, the Devils had fight in them and tied up the score less than a minute later. Ty Smith shot's bounced off several Bruins players on its way in the net, but the rookie scores his first career NHL goal in his NHL debut. With four minutes left and a tied game, the Bruins led 34-18 in shots. Due to a strong third period, the game went to overtime tied at two.
With just over a minute left in the overtime period, Kyle Palmieri went in on a breakaway against Boston's Tuukka Rask but was unable to score. The Devils kept pressure on the Bruins defense as the final minute was winding down. Blackwood deflected a shot up out to keep the Bruins from tying with 28 secconds left. As the overtime period was expiring, the Devils were inches from scoring.
The game went to a shootout after a scoreless five-minute overtime period. Gusev shot first for the Devils but was stopped. Blackwood's left pad stopped Boston's Charlie Coyle in the first round. Jesper Boqvist was up second for the Bruins but hit Rask's pad with his shot. Blackwood stopped the second Bruins shooter. In the third round, Jack Hughes was stopped. Brad Marchand scored to win the game for Boston. Marchand had the first and third goals for Boston, as well as the primary assist on the team's second goal.
"If you look at the first period, the way we played for me, we looked nervous, we looked tight, it looked like we hadn't played in ten months and Mackenzie stood tall for us, obviously to give us a chance in the second and third," said Head Coach Lindy Ruff. "I thought our game really came around in the last couple periods and overtime."
"I thought our team did a great job fighting back," said Wood post-game. "This is a tough league and you know games will be close...I really liked the way the team played tonight, and you know it's just the start."
Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who had a solid game in net with 35 saves, agreed with Wood on the team's compete level.
"I think it got better and better as the game went on. It's a new structure for everyone, we're just trying to learn it," said Blackwood. "We did a good job with our first real game and that structure, so we just have a lot to build on, a lot to keep working on, but it was good."
Another stand out in the Devils home opener was Yegor Sharangovich. Sharangovich drew three penalties and looked strong in his NHL debut. After a strong camp performance, Ruff moved Sharangovich to the top line during the game, and the Devils bench boss is confident in the rookie.
"Sharangovich really impressed me through training camp, through practices, watching them play, watching the scrimmages, he had done so many good things," said Ruff. "[Playing him was] an opportunity to put a good two way player that can score...that's a line that can score."
The Devils will host the Bruins again on Saturday for the second game of their home series against Boston.