Penalties Zap Devils’ Momentum in Rangers Loss

NEW YORK — The Devils played with fire and got burned for it on Saturday night.

New Jersey gave the Rangers four power-play chances in their Game 6 loss, zapping the momentum they gained from scoring the first goal of the night and eventually leading to a game-changing goal that tied things up at one with 24.9 seconds left in the opening period.

It was the only goal that the Rangers scored on the man-advantaged, but coupled with another penalty in the closing seconds of the first by Ondrej Palat and another early in the second, the Devils struggled to get back into their rhythm.

“I think the first period we struggled really well. I think they didn’t have much at all us,” Nico Hischier said while describing how things shifted after the penalties. “I think we even had like three penalties in the first period. I think all their chances and obviously their late goal on the power play, so we (have to) clean that up. Especially when we have the momentum.

“If we take penalties that’s how we’re going to help them to get in the game.”

It was Dawson Mercer’s that proved the costliest of the three in the opening period. The Devils’ center tried to chase down Patrick Kane on a breakaway eventually sliding to try and break up the play.

Mercer was able to knock the puck away, but ended up tripping Kane in the process. Chris Kreider deflected a shot from the side of the net 28 seconds into the man advantage.

“I think obviously I would have liked to change it, for sure,” Mercer said about the penalty. “We had lots of chances following then. They made some big stops and capitalized on their other turns, so we just want to make sure we come back. Big game at home and we know what we got to give.”

The Devils’ penalty kill will need to be effective in Game 7 on Monday. New Jersey had come into Saturday night’s game operating at an 80% success rate on the PK and hadn’t given up a power play goal since Game 2 of the series.

Head coach Lindy Ruff liked what he saw from his team in the loss, despite the score. The Rangers didn’t pull away too much until the third period and the Devils’ coach said he didn’t agree with some of the calls, though he wouldn’t expand too much on the thought.

“I thought the penalties hurt us. Some of the calls I didn’t like, but obviously you gotta try to get through them,” Ruff said.

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