The New Jersey Devils came into their game against the Chicago Blackhawks having lost four of their last five games, but left with a much-needed win, winning 5-3 in Chicago’s United Center on March 26.
Game Recap
The Devils opened the scoring six minutes into the game when Nathan Bastian scored his fourth of the season to make it 1-0. Less than 30 seconds later, after Patrick Maroon took a high-sticking penalty, Timo Meier buried a rebound off a Dawson Mercer shot past Spencer Knight to make it 2-0.
Midway through the first period, with the Blackhawks on the power play, Chicago forward Tyler Bertuzzi one-timed a pass from Ryan Donato to make it 2-1.
Early in the second period, Erik Haula took a tripping penalty, but Ondrej Palat fired a laser for his 14th goal of the season to give the Devils a 3-1 lead.
Related: Several Blackhawks Hit Milestones in Impressive Late March Win
The Blackhawks soon responded with Ilya Mikheyev’s 17th of the season, but just five minutes later, after Landon Slaggert took a roughing penalty, Dawson Mercer scored his 16th of the season on the power play – assisted by Jesper Bratt, his second apple of the game and his 64th of the season – to make it 4-2.
Late in the third period, Frank Nazar cut the lead to one with his seventh, but Sean Noesen hit the 20-goal mark with an empty-netter to make it 5-3, which would end up being the final score.
Devils’ goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 16 of 18 shots to get the win, giving him a record of 23-14-6 on the season.
As for Knight, who the Blackhawks acquired in the Seth Jones trade, he is now 3-4-1 with Chicago and 15-13-1 on the season.
Related: Devils’ Luke Hughes Embracing Increased Responsibilities
The Devils are now 38-28-7 with 83 points, third in the Metropolitan Division with a plus-26 goal differential. They are on pace to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.
The Blackhawks are now 21-42-9 with 51 points, last in the Central Division, and second last in both the Western Conference and the league. They are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games and have a minus-63 goal differential and are on pace to finish with a record that may earn them another high pick in the draft.
The Devils have two more road games this weekend, facing the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild to close out their Central Division road trip.
As for the Blackhawks, they host the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, then close out the weekend against Utah Hockey Club.
