The New Jersey Devils headed to Anaheim on Sunday night to face the Ducks. Despite a spirited third period, they were unable to complete a comeback, falling 4-1 for their third loss in the four-game road trip.
Related: Ducks Take a 4-1 Victory Over Visiting Devils
Allen’s Slow Start Tough to Overcome
Jake Allen gave up five goals to the San Jose Sharks as the Devils got strafed on Halloween Eve. Unfortunately for him, while he was better tonight, a slow start was too tough to overcome.
Surely, the Devils’ defense could have played better in front of him at times. But in the first two periods, Allen gave up three goals on 1.63 expected goals, according to Moneypuck.
In this instance, one specific goal against seemed to suck the air out of the balloon: the Ducks’ third goal. The Devils, down 2-0, were buzzing and came close to pulling within one. Then the Ducks got some pressure and a Cutter Gauthier centering pass went through Allen, who didn’t fully seal the ice. The “shot” had just a 5.1% chance of being a goal.
🚨 Cutter 🚨
From a … sharp… angle! 😉
It’s 3-0!Desde una angulo dificil. #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/7CS7EDF4Fg
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) November 3, 2025
It took the Devils until later in the third to re-gain control of the game. Allen was phenomenal the rest of the way, stopping all 12 shots he faced in the final frame. While it’s a silver lining for him, unfortunately, the slow start prevented the Devils from escaping with a point or two.
Lack of Finishing
After being one of the worst finishing teams in the league last season, that ability started to trend upwards for them during their eight-game winning streak. Unfortunately, tonight started to look a lot like many contests in 2024-25: the Devils scored just once despite generating 3.27 expected goals.
It’s almost indescribable how Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal continues to be a thorn in the Devils’ side. Coming into the night, in three career appearances against them, he was undefeated with a remarkable .949 save percentage. That figure only rose with his remarkable performance tonight — 32 of 33 (.970%).
The alarms should certainly not be sounded: the Devils have still scored +7.26 goals above expected for the season. If they could just finish at an average rate for the rest of the season, that would put them in a great spot. (via Natural Stat Trick)
Luke Hughes’ Penalty Trouble
For the whole Devils team, staying out of the box has been a major issue. Coming in, they found themselves shorthanded for an average of 3.58 times per game — the eighth-worst mark in the league. With key penalty killers Johnathan Kovacevic, Brett Pesce, Cody Glass and Connor Brown all injured and out of the fold, there needs to be an extra emphasis on discipline.
Instead, the Devils have lost another key defenseman too often — not to injury, but to the penalty box. Luke Hughes’ minor penalty for tripping in the first period was his eighth minor and 16th penalty minute (PIM) of the season, matching his total from all of last season. In just these 13 games, he’s had 26.6% of his career PIMs.
Maybe it’s him trying to do too much, or still getting back into the flow after missing preseason to a contract dispute. Whatever the reason, Luke is immensely talented and especially with all the injuries, they can’t afford for him to keep spending time in the sin bin.
Quick Note: Glass Half-Full Outlook
Despite the rough trip, the Devils are still 9-4-0. It’s worth noting, as Bryce Salvador pointed out on the MSG broadcast, that the Devils were playing their eighth game in 13 days, while the Ducks were playing just their third in eight days. It’s not an excuse, just fact: the Devils’ schedule has been pretty brutal, but they’re getting a break as they now don’t have to play until Thursday against the surging Montreal Canadiens at the Prudential Center (7:00 PM EDT).
