With the New Jersey Devils season having just started with a great overtime game against the Philadelphia Flyers, it is already time for a triumphant goal breakdown. Let’s dive right into it!
The Situation
Throughout overtime, it first seemed like Jack Hughes was going to be held off of the faceoff dot by Sheldon Keefe. Nico Hischier started overtime with Timo Meier and Luke Hughes. When they were unable to end the game, and the Devils had to deal with a defensive zone faceoff, Keefe sent Evan Rodrigues to the ice
with Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton. After Rodrigues won the draw, he went to the bench for Jesper Bratt. This shift came and went and was followed by another one for the initial overtime group, which nearly resulted in the Devils’ demise when Luke Hughes got a bit tired and didn’t get quite enough help from his forwards in the defensive zone, leading to another draw to Jake Allen’s left. But this time, Sheldon Keefe trusted Jack Hughes to take the draw with Jesper Bratt on his wing and Brett Pesce in Dougie’s spot.
- The teams were playing three-on-three with 2:21 to play in the third period.
- The game was tied at 2-2.
- The Devils on the ice: #86 Jack Hughes, #63 Jesper Bratt, and #22 Brett Pesce
- The Flyers on the ice: #46 Trevor Zegras, #11 Travis Konecny and #6 Travis Sanheim
Tim recapped the home opener on Thursday night.
The Video
The Breakdown
While Zegras won the faceoff, the puck went out to the neutral zone, forcing the Flyers to muster up a play to regain the offensive zone. Konecny did so, backhanding it from the middle to Travis Sanheim on his right. These two worked the puck around the boards as Jack Hughes gave chase. With Hughes continuing to shadow Sanheim, the puck came to Trevor Zegras, who tried to backhand a feed across the zone to Konecny, which was deflected off of Jack Hughes and below the goal line
With Sanheim going to retrieve the puck, he had two plays: he could backhand it behind the net to nobody in particular, or he had a high-risk play to Zegras, who would have had a chance to score with Pesce on the other side of the net. Sanheim played the puck on his forehand far too slowly, allowing Jack Hughes to steal it away.
At first, it looked like his best play would be to spring Jesper Bratt, who was at that time the highest player in the zone, for a quick rush chance. But Travis Konecny served as a pick on Bratt, forcing Jack to beat the Flyers up the ice with his legs. Konecny took position as the defense back on the two-on-one against Hughes and Bratt. Sanheim was in no-man’s land, while Zegras had the trailer in Brett Pesce covered.
You would think here, surely Konecny stays up and doesn’t give the game away, right? You would be wrong. Instead of staying in position for the two-on-one, forcing Jack Hughes to consider shooting straight on Jospeh Woll, Konecny goes sliding on his chest like a fool. But as he was about to do so, Jesper Bratt smacks his stick up a bit, forcing Konecny to get his stick back on the ice in time to block the pass. In the images above (note: you can click on an image to enlarge it and then click next on the right to see the other one), you can see the moment Bratt stick checks Konecny. And after he goes down to the ice, Jack Hughes chips the puck right over his reach to Jesper Bratt.
While Bratt waits for the puck to hit the ice again, Brett Pesce peels off from the attack and goes back into a free safety sort of spot. You can see this is a moment where Woll starts to spiral out of sorts. Konecny has abandoned him, leaving him to the wrath of Hughes and Bratt. By the time the puck is actually on the ice and on Bratt’s stick, Woll has overcommitted, while neither of the Flyers have been able to catch up with Jack Hughes, who was still moving at a very fast pace. With the puck coming back from Bratt to Hughes, with Woll committing hard to Bratt at the side of the net, the game was over.
Leaving Woll on an island like that really screwed the Flyers, as I was feeling like this was a game destined to go to a shootout as long as they didn’t make any big mistakes. But I will take it. These kinds of plays are bread and butter to Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt.
Something really incredible about this particular goal was how Jack skated to create the chance. We all know that he’s a fantastic skater, but ESPN noted in its replay that he had a sustained speed of 18-19 miles per hour as he skated from the far blueline and into the offensive zone, only dropping from 19 to 16 MPH immediately after chipping the puck past Konecny. This is how he’s able to leave Zegras and Sanheim in the dust (despite Zegras not having spent much effort in the shift). NHL EDGE regards skating over 18 MPH as a speed burst, but Jack covered about 70-80% of the ice at 19 MPH (maxing out at 19.43 MPH, per EDGE) while carrying the puck.
And, of course, Jack Hughes tossed his stick into the crowd, as it made its way into the hands of a man wearing a Team USA Jack Hughes jersey. Travis Konecny, of course, also tried to block that throw, but his stick couldn’t get there in time. Losers stay losing, but Jack likes to win.
Your Thoughts
What did you think of the first game? How did you feel as Jack was racing up ice? Did you think the Devils were going to win throughout the overtime? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
