GAME RECAP: Devils 2, Oilers 1

EDMONTON, AB – Goaltender Jake Allen made 22 saves, while forwards Arseny Gritsyuk and Cody Glass each had a goal and an assist for the New Jersey Devils to deny the Edmonton Oilers another three-game win streak in a 2-1 defeat at Rogers Place on Tuesday night.

"The fact that we haven't been able to get a little run, we want to get some momentum and win some games in a row, and that's how you climb up the standings," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I like the fact that we respond well after losses. We've got a good record after losses, but if we're going to be a really good team and move up to the standings, we've got to be able to win more than two games in a row.

After the Oilers shut out their opponents over back-to-back victories on the weekend, Gritsyuk was the first to beat an Oilers' goaltender in over seven periods when his one-timer squeaked through Tristan Jarry to give the Devils a 1-0 lead at 14:37 of the second period.

After Matt Savoie responded 1:39 later to equalize on a tip-in for his first goal in 16 games, Glass answered back only a minute and a half afterwards to restore New Jersey's lead before Allen helped lock down the Devils' victory over a dominant third period from the Oilers with 10 saves in the frame.

"Obviously, we weren't at our best," said Curtis Lazar, who skated in his 600th NHL game. "Kind of just lacked that last five or 10 percent urgency and playing connected. We pushed and played more of our brand of hockey at the end, but we just weren't able to get it done."

Tristan Jarry stopped 15 of 17 shots in his first home start for the Oilers, while Isaac Howard and Jake Walman each had assists in the defeat.

The Oilers will continue their eight-game homestand on Thursday against Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak & the Pittsburgh Penguins.

FIRST PERIOD

Is there any role Vasily Podkolzin isn't capable of playing right now?

The Russian had goals in back-to-back games on the top line with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman coming into Tuesday's date with the Devils, earning himself a spot on the top-unit power play in place of Leon Draisaitl, but he was ready to drop the gloves in defence of his captain in the final three minutes of the opening frame.

Podkolzin has proven over his two seasons in Oil Country that he's prepared to answer the bell when he has to, and did so late in the first period by shedding the mitts with Johnathan Kovacevic after the Devils' defenceman caught McDavid with a cross-check up high after crossing into New Jersey's zone.

"That's what we're all about in here," Lazar said. "We stand up for each other, and Podz didn't bat an eye. He went in there and got the job done."

Despite stepping up, the Oilers winger was given two-and-10 for instigating with a five-minute major for fighting, putting his side on the penalty kill that they were motivated to kill off and were able to do so thanks to Tristan Jarry's kick save on Dawson Mercer off a clever exchange down low from the Devils.

"We'll kill those penalties all the time," Lazar said. "That's what we're all about."

Both netminders were only tasked to make four saves each over a low-event opening 20 minutes, where the Oilers and Devils each had their moments but struggled to generate many high-danger chances in the period.

The Devils came out with the better start in the second of back-to-back games after beating the Flames last night in Calgary, hemming the Oilers into their own zone for a couple of long shifts before the hosts responded with their best push before the 10-minute mark of the frame.

SECOND PERIOD

If it weren't for Tristan Jarry taking it old school to make a ridiculous acrobatic save with his side on the power play past the midway mark, it could've been a different story for the Oilers after 40 minutes, trailing only 2-1 to the Devils after the scoring picked up in the middle frame.

The Devils cracked the scoresheet first at 14:37 of the frame when Arseny Gritsyuk's one-timer from the slot that was set up by Cody Glass squeaked through Jarry to make it 1-0 on only their seventh shot of the game, and third of 10 total shots for New Jersey during the second period.

But just 1:39 later, it was Matt Savoie who responded for the Oilers with a high deflection off Jake Walman's point shot that came from a face-off win by Jack Roslovic before beating Jake Allen five-hole, marking the rookie skater's eighth goal of the season and first goal in 16 games.

"Big faceoff win by Rosie, and then I was trying to get out of the way," Savoie said. "I think Wally was going a little high, but obviously not a high stick, so it was pretty fortunate there."

"I thought it was gonna ride up pretty high on me, so I tried getting out of the way and luckily hit a stick. So a good shot by Wally there."

With only 11 forwards dressed for the Oilers, Savoie played with plenty of different centres in a pairing with Howard and finished with 16:42 of ice time.

"Kind of bounced around with a couple of guys out there and got a little bit extra ice time, so I love it," Savoie said. "But just trying to contribute wherever I can and with whichever guys I'm playing with."

Savoie has three points in 10 games (1G, 2A) and is the 16th rookie this season to reach eight-plus goals, and also one of eight Western Conference rookies with a faceoff percentage above 46 (46.9). He's on pace for 24 points, which would make him the 43rd rookie in franchise history to record 20-plus points.

But just as the Oilers answered back quickly, so did the Devils to take back their lead only 1:30 later after Glass jumped onto the ice and was open on the left side to take a one-timer set up by Gritsyuk and beat Jarry inside the post to restore New Jersey's advantage at 2-1 with 11:28 left in the period.

Gritsyuk and Glass both had multi-point nights going for the Devils, while former Oilers winger Connor Brown picked up a helper on Glass's go-ahead goal.

The Oilers went to their first power play midway through the frame on a delay of game penalty to Brenden Dillon, but they were lucky that Jarry was up to the task on a shorthanded rush for the Devils that featured the netminder's biggest save of the night – and possibly as an Oiler – in his first home start.

Edmonton's top unit power play coughed up the puck near the blueline to set up a quick two-on-one for the Devils, where Brown skated up ice with speed and fed Glass with a cross-ice pass that he tried to put short side, but was denied by a rolling acrobatic glove save from Jarry to keep things close at 2-1.

The Oilers didn't get a shot on their first power play where the Devils looked more dangerous, but a second chance with the man advantage a few minutes later saw Walman get wide open on the right side for a one-timer that Allen tracked smartly to make the excellent save.

THIRD PERIOD

Close, but not close enough.

The Oilers outshot the Devils 10-2 in the third period and dominated the chances, but they couldn't solve Jake Allen in the final frame and failed to register their first three-game win streak of the season once again at the final hurdle in a 2-1 defeat to the Devils on Tuesday.

"It's a tough league," Lazar said. "Any given night, anyone can beat anyone. Tonight's a prime example. We've got to be at our best. A great opportunity for us. Our division's still up for grabs. We've got to keep on chipping away and stringing some wins together here, so we're playing some good hockey, but we can't take any nights off."

"Win streaks are fun, but they're not going to be given to you. As I said, it's the best league in the world. These guys play hard. They played last night. They got on us early. We defended well, but again, we didn't play fast enough to our identity."

Edmonton's pressure in search of an equalizer had them getting the bounces early in the final frame, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins couldn't handle the puck with open space in front in the first few minutes before the puck was almost inadvertently redirected through Allen's five-hole on their next chance seconds later.

Podkolzin missed a large portion of the game, sitting out for serving his 10-minute misconduct for instigating in the opening period, and nearly tied things up when he was sent in alone by Hyman at the blueline for a breakaway that needed Allen to come up with the big right-pad stop to keep New Jersey ahead.

Allen thwarted the Oilers again with a big denial on Nugent-Hopkins before the puck arrived on Hyman's stick on the opposite side, but the winger struck the post with his effort and was denied his chance to score in a third straight game as it looked like the Oilers were running out of opportunities.

After pulling their goalie, the Oilers had one final concerted push before time wound down in the Devils' zone on a 2-1 defeat.

"I thought we were just playing faster in the third period, punching back lots and not letting them kind of get set in their neutral zone, and I just thought it allowed us to create a lot more," Savoie said. "Get pucks on net and test him a little bit more. Obviously, he didn't see a lot through the first two periods, I think 10 shots, so that was a point of emphasis, for sure."

"I think it comes down to working in games like that where the puck's not settling, or passes aren't clicking like they normally are. So I think we just got to work our way out of that and be better."