LAS VEGAS _ The Devils embarked on a four-game road trip riding higher than they had all season with a stud rookie goalie and a three-game winning streak. Now, three games into that trip, that rookie goalie is injured and New Jersey is struggling to find some consistency.
Nico Hischier and Ben Lovejoy scored for the Devils and Keith Kinkaid made 25 saves in his first start since Dec. 23, but the Devils couldn't overcome their own mistakes or capitalize on two late power plays in a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
The undoing of the Devils (16-18-7, 39 points) was in the second period. The Golden Knights (26-15-4, 56 points) scored three unanswered goals, two of which came in the second. They controlled the play for much of the first period but it was the Golden Knights who were the aggressors in the second.
After getting lucky in the first period with a favorable disallowed goal call, New Jersey had no such luck at 11:17 in the second when Brayden McNabb's point shot tied the game at 2. The goal was initially waved off with the officials saying Kinkaid was interfered with but it was overturned on review, effectively erasing the New Jersey lead.
At 15:46, Max Pacioretty put Vegas ahead for good.
The Devils managed only seven shots on goal in a lackluster second period. They came out firing in the third and threw 20 shots at Malcolm Subban (34 saves). They had a power play with 3:22 left in regulation and were gifted another with 1:02 left to play when Ryan Reaves went right back into the box after chipping the puck over the glass.
But they couldn't capitalize as Subban was stellar in crunch-time.
A turnover by Pavel Zacha led to Reaves going five-hole on Kinkaid at 12:30 in the first, cutting the lead in half.
Lovejoy showed some fancy stick-handling when he found his way through the slot, spun and scored and threw the puck on net from out wide to put the Devils up 2-0 at 9:37 in the first period. He also had an assist on Hischier's goal to open the game at 5:06. Hischier caught his own blocked shot and beat Subban to put New Jersey on the board.
The Devils have played well without Taylor Hall and Marcus Johansson, but in a tight game where a few bounces made all the difference, those two difference-makers were certainly missed.
