Devils Break Exciting Two-Game Win Streak, Lost 5-2 vs. Ottawa Senators | 3/23/2024
New Jersey had a relieving two-game win streak after so many ups and downs lately for the team. The Devils defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 and the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 following two losses on the road. In hopes of a three-game win streak at home before heading out on the road for three games, the Devils took a 5-2 loss when they hosted the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, March 23rd. The Senators put an end to their three-game skid, surging past the Devils for a big win.
Mathieu Joseph struck early at 15:04 of the first period for his 11th goal of the season to give Ottawa the 1-0 lead. He dominated a turnover at the Senator’s blue line and scored with a snap shot short-handed that went in off Jake Allen’s pad on a breakaway.
Putting New Jersey on the board to tie it 1-1 just 23 seconds into the middle frame – Jesper Bratt scored, ending his 11-game goal drought with his 23rd of the season on a breakaway. Only 36 seconds later, Tomas Nosek gave the Devils a 2-1 lead to break the tie from the left face-off circle with a snap shot. At 15:54, Ridly Greig tied it 2-2 on a wrister at the slot, and Angus Crookshank gave the lead back to Ottawa from the right circle with a one-timer. Thomas Chabot recorded his eighth goal of the season to push it to 4-2 after taking a pass from Brady Tkachuk and scored with a snap shot at the left post.
Drake Batherson went for the 5-2 final at 9:45 of the third when he went top-shelf with a backhanded shot from the slot. It was his 24th goal of the season.
Jesper Bratt on what changed after the second period: “We obviously got lucky on a breakaway and then we kind of stuck with it. We did, a little bit, play some solid hockey at the beginning of the second, and then started trying out stuff and we started going east to west instead of north, south and we got away from our game a little bit.”
Tomas Nosek on the loss against the Ottawa Senators: “We bounced back at the start of the second, then suddenly we just stopped executing and we were not good enough – a lot of bad plays, bad passes, and a lot of mistakes… We need to dig deep, and everybody needs to play better tomorrow.”
