In a penalty-filled 60 minutes of hockey, the New Jersey Devils defended their home ice by beating the Canucks in overtime.
By Patrick Comia
The New Jersey Devils keep defying hockey logic and cause one to question, “Who are these guys?”
With a 4-3 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey continued their early season success and are now above .500 at home, with a record of 4-3.
However, the Devils started the game slow, being outworked and outplayed by the visiting Canucks. They were outshot 13-6 in the first period. However, the Devils were able to find their footing after the opening minutes.
After spotting the Canucks a goal, the resurgent combination of Adam Henrique and Travis Zajac worked to get New Jersey on the board with a shorthanded goal.
The Devils would strike again thanks to Mike Cammalleri. The sniper showed off his nifty puck-handling skills and put the “kibosh” on Canucks goalie Ryan Miller, who slid out of the way for a wide-open net.
The second period would open with both teams locked up at two goals a piece. However, the period was a wild 20 minutes of penalties and fights.
13 players were called for various penalties (i.e.hooking, interference, boarding, slashing) Pretty much, you name it, it was called. Also, things started getting chippy between the two teams, resulting in two spirited bouts from the Devils Jordin Tootoo and Bobby Farnham. Both players had the same reactions after their bouts.
The Bash Brothers of the #NJDevils. pic.twitter.com/z61JVdVr2R
— New Jersey Devils (@NHLDevils) November 9, 2015
Through all the melee, there was some scoring by both teams. Rookie free agent Sergey Kalinin finally got the monkey off his back and scored his first NHL goal, putting the Devils ahead by two goals.
Check out more of Kalinin’s first NHL goal: Finally, New Jersey Devils Rookie Kalinin Scores First NHL Goal
However, Vancouver was able to climb back into the game with relentless pressure, pinning the Devils in their own end, and tying the game with two second period goals.
The Canucks could have led by one after two, if it were not for the strong play of Keith Kinkaid in net. He stopped 28 of 31 shots faced, including this highway robbery of Canucks forward Radim Vrbata, while Vancouver was on the power play.
Shades of Martin Brodeur for Devils fans.
After a scoreless third period, the two teams had to take things into overtime. That’s where Kyle Palmieri rose and became tonight’s hero, scoring a power play goal in overtime to secure the team the extra point, and putting the team’s home record above .500.
AN OT THRILLER: #KylePalmieri buries it as the #NJDevils knock off the Canucks.
https://t.co/trdl7d5ddJ
— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) November 9, 2015
With the win tonight, the Devils are tied with the New York Islanders for fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 17 points, who are on a two-game losing streak with their 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. They remain one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for third in the division.
#NJDEVILS WIN in OT! pic.twitter.com/6qw9S5ZKQ2
— N.J. Devil (@NJDevil00) November 9, 2015
The Devils will be back in action Tuesday night as they host the St. Louis Blues to town.
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