Hall held pointless in Devils loss to Jets
10 Takeaways: Jets defeat Devils 3-2 at Prudential Center
by Amanda Stein @AmandaCStein / newjerseydevils.com
The New Jersey Devils tried to play catch-up against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night after being down a goal early in the first period.
Unfortunately, the Devils were unable to keep up with one of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL, falling to the Jets 3-2.
Here are 10 takeaways from the game:
1. Cory Schneider returned to backstop the Devils on Thursday night. Schneider stopped 21 of the 24 shots that he faced in the loss.
2. Devils forward Brian Gibbons returned to the lineup after a 22-game absence with a broken thumb. He played on a line with Brian Boyle and Miles Wood Thursday against the Jets. In his return, he took one shot and played 13:52.
3. The Devils played without forward Pavel Zacha, who was out with an upper-body injury. Without Zacha, the lineup looked as follows:
Hall-Hischier-Bratt
Grabner-Zajac-Palmieri
Maroon-Coleman-Noesen
Gibbons-Boyle-Wood
Greene-Vatanen
Moore-Severson
Butcher-Lovejoy
Schneider
Kinkaid
4. If you're going to leave the league's hottest goal-scorer in close with no one around him, chances are he's going to score. That's exactly what Jets forward Patrick Laine did, scoring one-on-one with Cory Schneider to give the Jets an early 1-0 lead and his 39th goal of the season. By comparison, Schneider came up big with a couple of saves later in the first period, when a shot trickled past him as he lay on his back and swept the puck away at the goal line.
5. The streak has come to an end. After 26 straight appearances with a point, and 19 consecutive games, Taylor Hall was held off the scoresheet against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. Over his stretch of 26 appearances, Hall registered 38 points (18g-20a) and in his 20 consecutive games with a point, Hall had 26 points (13g-13a). He currently leads the Devils with 74 points this season. His last game played without a point was on December 30th.
6. The Devils were without forward Kyle Palmieri for much of the first period. Palmieri blocked a shot midway through the first period and labored his way to the bench, and eventually went down the tunnel to the team locker room. Palmieri returned a short time later, finishing the first period playing 5:04.
7. The Devils were stymied once again on the power play against the Winnipeg Jets. The Devils were 0-for-4 on Thursday night. The Devils are only 3-for-34 against the Jets on the man advantage in their past 12 meetings.
8. Travis Zajac was on the wrong end of a big hit in the second period when he collided with Jets center Andrew Copp. Zajac finished his shift but had trouble making his way to the bench and down the players tunnel to the locker room. Zajac would not return for the remainder of the game.
9. Palmieri got the Devils on the board at 16:41 of the second period when Nico Hischier sent Palmieri in alone on Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck with a beautiful outlet pass. Palmieri scored his 18th goal of the season to cut the Jets' lead to 2-1. Hischier had the lone assist.
10. Just 1:12 after the Jets took a 3-1 lead on the Devils in the third period, the Devils got one right back. Hischier scored his 14th goal of the season, from Jesper Bratt and Will Butcher, when he somehow tapped in a loose puck between Hellebuyck's pad and the goal post.