Top Shelf: Josefson delivers on ‘Devil’s Night’
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – In a fitting twist of fate, the New Jersey Devils finally ended their NHL record run of shootout losses on Oct. 30, or as some folks call it, “Devil’s Night.”
One night before Halloween, Jacob Josefson ended the Devils’ string of 18 consecutive shootout losses, beating Winnipeg’s Ondrej Pavelec with a head fake for New Jersey’s first SO win since March 10, 2013, also against the Jets.
The Devils always tried to downplay the shootout skid, but it was obvious a weight was lifted off their shoulders on Thursday. Besides, New Jersey knows first-hand how important shootouts can be over the course of a season, even if it pretends they’re insignificant.
After all, the club finished only five points out of a playoff spot last season while losing all 13 of its shootouts, so it clearly had an effect on the team.
Last season marked the Devils’ second straight spring without a playoff appearance since making a run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012. New Jersey’s first month of the 2014-15 campaign has been a mixed bag, but the club is hoping the shootout victory is the sign of good things to come.
“It was our first home win of the season, and first shootout win in what feels like 10 years,” said Devils head coach Peter DeBoer. “So we got a couple monkeys off our back and can move forward; it was a big two points.”
DeBoer clearly had his team ready for this season, as the Devils jumped out to a 3-0 start. Things quickly soured, however, with New Jersey dropping five of its next six games before coming through with the shootout triumph over the Jets. The club also failed a big early-season test in its previous game, losing Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh by an 8-3 score.
Although DeBoer led Jersey to its deep playoff run in his first season with the club in 2011-12, the bench boss is hardly standing on solid ground with the Devils after failing to qualify for the postseason in consecutive campaigns. Josefson allowed the coach to breathe easier on Thursday, if only for one night.
Josefson was the second shooter for New Jersey in the decisive phase of Thursday’s game. After Damien Brunner hit the post for the Devils on their first attempt, Josefson’s fake sent Pavelec to the ice and gave him plenty of net to shootout. The 23-year-old Swede then calmly wristed the puck over Winnipeg’s netminder for the lead, and Devils goaltender Cory Schneider stopped both Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little to get Jersey an elusive shootout victory.
“Hopefully it’s the start of something good (in the shootout) and we can get a roll going here, but we’d rather win the games before the shootout,” Josefson said.
It’s possible Josefson may never had the chance to play shootout hero for the Devils if not for teammate Patrik Elias. DeBoer said Elias has been touting Josefson’s breakaway skills to anyone who will listen, and his head coach finally heeded the advice.
“(Josefson) has been really good in practice and (Elias) keeps bringing up his name whenever we’re talking about the shootout because he’s got a knack for scoring in practice,” said DeBoer.
“It was an easy pick,” the coach added. “And with a lot of pressure on, he made a great play.”
DeBoer’s decision helped end a scary drought in the shootout, but the memorable “Devil’s Night” could soon be forgotten if Jersey doesn’t start playing with more consistency.
“We just have to ride it out, find a way to win and get points,” Elias told NJ Advance Media after Thursday’s win. “We’ve got to be better, but we’ll take those points.”
Categorized in: NHL