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Kinkaid Registers First NHL Shutout against Kings

The Devils had an almost insurmountable task ahead of them. Coming off of an afternoon OT victory against the Flyers, they would be right back at it less than twenty four hours later against the powerful Los Angeles Kings.

It was ugly at times, but they succeeded in picking up four points on the weekend with a 1-0 win over those Kings and have (for the time being) moved into third place in the Metropolitan Division, leapfrogging the Islanders.

There were no lineup changes to the Devils’ roster for the second half of the back-to-back aside from Keith Kinkaid getting the start over Cory Schneider. Eric Gelinas, Stefan Matteau and Tuomo Ruutu were the healthy scratches. Kinkaid will be getting a lot more ice time as the Devils have a few more back-to-backs coming up over the next month or so.

Kinkaid would make 27 saves as he posted his very first NHL shutout in his tenth NHL win. Facing him across the rink was Jhonas Enroth, getting the start for LA due to Jonathan Quick’s injury suffered in Boston last week. He made 17 saves on 18 total Devils shots.

Part of the reason for the Devils recent success has been their power play. They got another boost in that department in this game. The only goal of the game came after Los Angeles’ Vincent Lecavalier was called for hooking at 5:15 of the first period.

With the Devils a man up, Travis Zajac won the faceoff in the Kings’ zone, banking it off the wall to David Schlemko. He shot on net and the puck beat Enroth. Although Schlemko got credit for the goal, replays seemed to show Joseph Blandisi tipping the puck in off the heel of his stick. MSG+ analyst Ken Daneyko noticed it first, but as of the end of the game, the scoring had not been changed, although it still can be changed. That was the only goal of the game as the Devils led 1-0.

Late in the first, the Kings had a great scoring chance when Alec Martinez hit the crossbar. The Devils would go back on the power play a few moments later, when Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty was called for holding at 20:00 of the first. The Devils would have a full two minutes with the extra man at the start of the second period with a fresh sheet of ice.

The Devils would have a wonderful scoring chance on that power play when Jacob Josefson hit the post. The teams were now trading posts and both goalies were coming through with good play.

Because of that post, the Devils did not register their first shot of the second period until the 7:27 mark.

The Devils would go on another power play at 17:52 of the second when LA’s Nick Shore was called for holding Adam Henrique. The Devils had another good power play showing, with Lee Stempniak getting a good chance at a wide open net. The puck was just tipped away by Martinez at the last second.

The Devils had an injury scare when Tyler Kennedy took a shot to the knee at 8:44 of the third and limped off the ice. He did not return and there was no word on his status.

The main theme the announce crew was mentioning was stick positioning of the Devils. They were cutting down passing lanes and gaps by keeping their sticks where they needed to be. It allowed the team to weather a Kings offensive onslaught late. Keith Kinkaid also came up big with a few timely saves while nursing a 1-0 lead, his shutout was much deserved. Kinkaid’s childhood idol was Martin Brodeur and he is now only 124 shutouts from tying Marty for the NHL record.

Next up, the Devils welcome the Flyers back to The Rock. The Devils, including yesterday’s win, have gone 11-2-3 against Philadelphia since the start of the 2013 season. This also begins a run against Metro Division opponents over the next week that includes the Isles and the Capitals. The Devils will try to emulate what they did on Saturday and defeat the Flyers, hopefully kicking off a good week for them by getting some points in big Metro Division games.

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Devils Drop Shootout to Leafs

In a sign that the season is truly winding down and, thus, points will be at a premium for teams with playoff aspirations, the Devils paid their final visit to Canada of the 2015-16 season. They were in Toronto to take on a Maple Leafs team that is mostly out of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, but would like to get another victory over New Jersey for their new boss, Lou Lamoriello.

The Devils were still without Michael Cammalleri, but defenseman John Moore did make his return to the lineup. Healthy scratches for New Jersey were Stefan Matteau, Tuomo Ruutu and Damon Severson.

One small area of concern was Cory Schneider’s health. The All-Star was rumored to have had suffered an undisclosed minor injury (though he is scheduled to start on Saturday afternoon against Washington). Coach John Hynes said that “he has no level of concern about Schneider’s injury” and Cory himself said that he was just a little sore from all of the hockey he has been playing. So it seems like normal wear and tear and nothing more. Hopefully, Cory can stay healthy because an injury to him could be catastrophic for this team.

With all of that, he would get the night off in Toronto, giving Keith Kinkaid his tenth start of the season. The backup had a good game, making 37 saves on 39 Maple Leaf shots. He played really well at times, making the big save when he had to. He will be getting some chances down the stretch as coach Hynes has mentioned that the team has “a lot of back-to-backs” and some tough opponents coming up. Hopefully, this gives him a chance to get some time in and be more comfortable coming off the bench.

Facing him was Toronto’s James Reimer. He made 32 saves on 34 shots faced and was perfect in the shootout, blanking the Devils there in the Leafs’ victory.

The Devils would take the lead early when the Maple Leafs’ Matt Hunwick took a delay of game penalty at 4:07. This set up a Devils power play, on which Jacob Josefson would convert at just nine seconds into. Travis Zajac won the faceoff in the Leafs’ zone, sending it back to David Schlemko at the point. He gave the puck to Josefson at the near halfwall. Josefson fired a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle that beat Reimer clean. Since coming back from injury, Josefson has been a boon to the Devils’ power play and helped to prove that here. The Devils had a 1-0 lead.

But the Devils would not get out of the period with the lead. Shawn Matthias scored at 8:34 off a redirect of a Tyler Bozak shot. Former Islander PA Parenteau had the secondary assist. The game was tied at one heading into the second.

There was no scoring in the second, but that does not mean there were not plenty of chances. Early in the period, Adam Henrique was called for hooking against Nazem Kadri. On the Leafs’ power play, the Devils developed a 2-on-1 with Stephen Gionta and Lee Stempniak. Gionta had seemingly scored, but the play was whistled dead when the linesman called offside. Gionta had gone in over the blue line just a step ahead of Stempniak and a Devils near-lead was taken away.

The third period saw an exciting finish. New Jersey retook the lead at 6:27 of the period when Joseph Blandisi picked up the puck in the corner, skated it behind the Leafs net, and gave it to Eric Gelinas at the far point. He slid it over to David Schlemko who one-timed it behind Reimer. Toronto coach Mike Babcock used his coach’s challenge here, asserting goalie interference on Reimer by Lee Stempniak. The replay showed that, while this was a much closer call than the challenge in the Rangers game, it still was pretty cut-and-dry. MSG+ analyst Ken Daneyko said that while Reimer was bumped by Stempniak, the contact came outside of the goal crease and Reimer still had time to get reset to see the shot. The goal counted and Toronto forfeited their timeout for later in the game. It was Schlemko’s second point of the game and the Devils led 2-1.

Two points in the game would move New Jersey past the Islanders in the Metropolitan Division standings, but it was not to be.

First, Babcock pulled Reimer with about 2:30 left in the third. Then, Bozak would beat Kinkaid with a snap shot off assists to Peter Holland and Dion Phaneuf. With just over two minutes left, the game was tied. It would stay that way, forcing another overtime chance for the Devils. The Devils did come away with a point, but would need a victory in the extra session or a shootout to move up in the standings.

Overtime was wild, simply put. The moment that best stands out was Blandisi (playing his first game in his hometown) being hit with a stretch pass that would have given him a breakaway and likely put the game winner on his stick. But he lost an edge just inside the Maple Leafs’ blue line and fell, nullifying the breakaway. Neither team would find the back of the net and it was on to a shootout for the second time in two meetings between these teams.

First up for Toronto was Holland and he missed. Reid Boucher missed for the Devils and it was on to the second round. PA Parenteau would score the only goal of the shootout, beating Kinkaid over the glove and Jacob Josefson was up. Although he usually seems automatic in these things, he missed and Kinkaid would have to stop Bozak to keep New Jersey alive. He did and it was up to Stempniak to tie things up for the Devils. His shot was saved by Reimer and the Devils dropped the game to Toronto.

The Devils do not have long to dwell on this loss. Next up, a 1 PM matinee Saturday in Newark against the high-powered Washington Capitals is in the cards. Alex Ovechkin will be back in the lineup for the Caps and Cory Schneider will be back between the pipes for the Devils. An upset win would go a long way in helping the Devils, plus Marty Brodeur will be in attendance to drop the puck in the ceremonial faceoff prior to the game. With an all-time legend in attendance, we will see what the Devils can do on Saturday.