Devils Top Red Wings 5-3 in Motown

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - APRIL 11: Jesper Bratt #63 of the New Jersey Devils shoots the puck past a defending Moritz Seider #53 of the Detroit Red Wings during the second period at Little Caesars Arena on April 11, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images If we weren’t going to make the playoffs, the next best thing is to ruin other team’s chances. Even better is when it’s one of my top 5 most hated teams in Detroit, so a nice little Saturday, all things considered.

1st Period However, it was an absolutely awful start to this game, as the Devils didn’t register a shot until 10 minutes in. Both Nico and Bratt passed up clean looks in favor of a pass – and I get that you sometimes gotta make the goalie move but shoot the puck if you have a clean look from inside 10 feet guys. While we were busy playing pond hockey, Detroit scored on their 10th shot at 9:41.

Just a terrible step up at the blueline by Dillon, letting Faulk walk in untouched and rip one past Allen. We would answer back almost exactly a minute later as we reverse-Markstrom’d the Wings by scoring on our first shot. Great play by Bratt to chip it up to a streaking Jack who was in on a 2-on-1 with Brown – and he decided we needed some shots and he buried it far side for his 27th goal, and 15th since the Olympic break at 10:41.

View Link Not much else to report on this period, as the Devils clawed back somewhat to make it a little less lopsided in the final 10 of the first – with shots 13-8, scoring chances 13-9 and xG (33%) all favoring the Wings. 2nd Period The 2nd was a totally different story from a pressure perspective and an objectively great period for the Devils. However, another mistake at the blueline would prove costly – this time on a mix up between Cholowski and Halonen allowed Copp to easily win the puck battle.