Devils Drop Fourth Straight with 4-3 Overtime Loss to the Islanders

Published: Saturday, October 26, 2024

by Brian Henderson

NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils (5-5-1) lost to the New York Islanders (3-2-2) 4-3 at the Prudential Center on Friday evening in overtime. The overtime thriller marks the fourth consecutive loss for the Devils.

The Devils' defense remains a concern, having allowed 23 goals in their last four games. The Islanders' offense, despite an inconsistent start to the season, managed to trouble goalie Jake Allen, who has given up 12 goals in his last two appearances.

It wasn’t the cleanest game from the Devils, but their schedule hasn’t helped. “Nine games in 16 days,” head coach Sheldon Keefe noted in the postgame press conference. “We look like a team that hasn’t practiced much—just two practices in the last 16 days.”

New York lit the lamp just over a minute into the game as Brock Nelson netted his third goal of the season off a deflection from Adam Pelech. However, the early lead held for only about two minutes.

Devils captain Nico Hischier found himself wide open in front of the net on a pass from Jesper Bratt. Hischier fired a shot past Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin for his eighth goal of the season, tying Nikita Kucherov for the league lead. The game wouldn’t stay tied for long, as Anders Lee took advantage of a power play, putting the Islanders back on top as the first period came to an end.

New Jersey got some offense from an unexpected source to kick off the second period, as Curtis Lazar netted his first goal of the season to tie things up once again.

The game stayed deadlocked late into the final period until Kyle Palmieri slipped a shot through Allen’s legs, giving the Islanders a 3-2 lead with under 10 minutes left in regulation. All night, whenever the Devils responded, the Islanders were there to capitalize.

As the clock wound down, the Devils needed a hero, and Jesper Bratt answered the call.

With less than two minutes remaining and an empty net, Bratt sent the equalizer past Sorokin, sending the game to overtime.

Just 69 seconds into overtime, Bo Horvat saw an opportunity and snapped a shot past Allen to give the Islanders the road victory.

The Devils walked away with a point but didn’t get the result they’d hoped for, as the Islanders prevailed 4-3. Their busy schedule continues as they prepare for a matchup against the Ducks on Sunday night.

Brian Henderson is an Assistant News Director at WSOU and can be reached at brian.henderson1@shu.edu. 

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