GAME RECAP: Devils 3, Oilers 0

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers nearly doubled the New Jersey Devils in shots on Monday night, but the Blue & Orange couldn't solve goaltender Jake Allen in a 3-0 shutout defeat at Rogers Place that drops their overall record to 6-6-1 this season.

"Sometimes even 30 shots are not enough to score, so that's tough," forward Vasily Podkolzin said post-game. "Just keep working and stay focused on our team."

New Jersey was efficient with their scoring by tallying goals from Stefan Noesen, Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier in the first, second and third periods to solve netminder Calvin Pickard's three times on 16 shots.

Allen was steady over the full 60 minutes in the Devils' crease, stopping all 31 shots he faced from the Oilers to pick up his second shutout this season.

"We had some opportunities to score goals we didn't capitalize," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "We didn't dominate tonight, but I thought it could have been much closer game."

Monday's defeat for Blue & Orange was their second this season by way of the shutout – and second on home ice – after failing to score against the Winnipeg Jets back on Opening Night of the 2024-25 NHL season.

The Oilers will have a chance to respond on Wednesday in a Pacific Division battle at Rogers Place against the Vegas Golden Knights.

FIRST PERIOD

Despite another solid opening few minutes, the Oilers couldn't give themselves the early lead for the third straight game and instead trailed after giving up the opening goal on the Devils' first attempt on net.

Edmonton outshot New Jersey 5-0 in the first five minutes and hit a crossbar early when Adam Henrique had a chance similar to Leon Draisaitl's opening goal in Calgary last night, finding himself wide open in front for a chance that had goaltender Jake Allen beaten before hit struck the crossbar and sailed out of play.

"The play developed well, then I made the move I wanted to and just got too much of it there," Henrique said.

Coming into Monday's match, Henrique had picked up a point in three straight games (5G, 1A) against New Jersey and recorded his first-and-only NHL hat against the Devils back on Dec. 17, 2023 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.

"We have to find a way to find an ugly one at some point there," he added. "I thought we had good pressure and good opportunities to do that, but we just couldn't seem to get that first one."

When the Devils did get some extended offensive-zone time, it was Jesper Bratt who was able to find Stefan Noesen as he entered the zone from a change to put a shot on goal that struck the left post and trickled over the line while Dougie Hamilton and Darnell Nurse battled to create a screen in front.

The Devils were looking a lot more dangerous with a 1-0 lead near the midway mark of the period when a shot from Hamilton took a slight deflection off Jeff Skinner on the way through, leaving Calvin Pickard in an awkward position to defend Bratt's follow-up rebound, but the Oilers goalie sprawled out to take away the winger's point-blank chance.

Wide-open opportunities were a theme for both sides in the opening period, with Edmonton and New Jersey feeling like it could've been a 3-3 score through 20 minutes despite the Devils holding onto a slender one-goal advantage at the intermission.

After Henrique had another near-open look at New Jersey's goal that went unconverted, it was ultimately Jack Hughes who would deny the Devils a two-goal lead.

The elite American centre made an unintentional save on Bratt's wide-open shot from outside the crease when he was guided into the blue paint by Darnell Nurse, leading to his linemate's effort going off the shaft of his stick and staying out before Hughes hunched back in disbelief.

SECOND PERIOD

Another open chance for the Oilers, this time from Vasily Podkolzin, went unanswered 6:40 into the middle frame after Leon Draisaitl's perfect pass to the Podkolzin in front caught Jake Allen over-extended in his crease, but the Russian's one-touch shot went through the blue paint and past the near post.

Podkolzin came into tonight’s game riding a two-game point streak with two assists on the top line with Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson, but he's still chasing his first goal as an Oiler – and it hasn't been from a lack of chances for the Russian.

"For me especially, I need to create more and maybe be a little more physical," Podkolzin said. "I need to learn how to be more consistent and to be more useful for my linemates. Sometimes, it's your turn, and sometimes, it's not, so tomorrow will be a new day."

The Oilers had an odd-man rush before the seven-minute mark between Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman, where No. 18 went hard to the far post and accepted his linemate's back-door pass, but he couldn't get all of it before crashing into the New Jersey net.

The Devilswould double their lead with their first power play before the intermission on anOilers bench minor for too many men, setting up Bratt in the slot to sneak a low shot through Pickard's five-hole that just barely found its way into the back of Edmonton's net for the 2-0 lead.

Henrique took the blame for the infraction after the game, while mentioning that the Oilers penalty kill has experienced difficulties replicating the short-handed success they had during last season's Stanley Cup Playoffs by going 21-for-35 (60.0 percent) the first 13 games of this campaign.

"I think that one's on me. I just took a little bit of the wrong turn, and when it's not going your way, they just seem to find the back of the net," he said. "So it's just the little details and thinning areas of the game, and I take responsibility for that one."

The Blue & Orange had 23 shots through two periods on Monday, but were trailing after 40 minutes after giving up two goals on 13 shots to the Devils.

THIRD PERIOD

Calvin Pickard made a point-blank save on Timo Meier during a fast break close to nine minutes into the final frame, but the winger ultimately collected New Jersey's third goal at the end of the very same shift.

When the Devils came back up ice on their next rush, the puck fell to Dawson Mercer in the neutral zone, who flicked it high into the air and over Edmonton's defence to allow Meier to puck up the puck with speed and slide it around Pickard to make up for his earlier miss.

The Oilers had the chance to make it a 2-1 game on an early power play in the third, but they couldn't cut into New Jersey's lead and now trailed by three, with Bratt's PPG in the second period contributing to an unfortunate night for their special teams.

"Unfortunately, I don't think we generated very much," Knoblauch said. "There were two shot attempts, but they weren't really scoring chances. If we're talking about scoring chances five on five. I think we did well, but we haven't drawn many power plays to really generate things and kind of get in a rhythm and build on them. It's something we need to look at."

"Right now, we know our power play is going to get better. We know our penalty kill is going to get better. It's just finding the right execution."

The Oilers pulled their goalie with more than three minutes left in regulation, but neither team could find a goal as time ran out on Edmonton's chances to stage a late comeback.