On Wednesday, Oct. 22, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Minnesota Wild at the Prudential Center. The Devils were on a five-game win streak after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs the day prior, Tuesday, Oct. 21. The Wild just won their first game of a five-game road trip on Monday, Oct. 20 when they beat the New York Rangers. It was the Devils who extended their streak to six games with a 4-1 victory over Minnesota.
Game Recap
Two minutes into the first period, Wild forward Marcus Foligno took a seat for interference on Dawson Mercer. They didn’t score on the power play opportunity, but they did open the scoring 14 minutes later. Mercer won the initial faceoff in the Devils’ zone. He passed the puck to Connor Brown behind the net, who passed it to Paul Cotter in front. He took a shot and the puck slid behind Filip Gustavsson to put the Devils on the board first.
The Devils had some good chances to increase their lead in the first five minutes of the second, including a Jack Hughes breakaway and a mad scramble to gain control of the puck in front of Gustavsson’s net. Just a minute later, Brenden Dillon increased the Devils’ lead. Simon Nemec sent the puck around the boards for Mercer. He passed it to Dillon at the blue line. His shot flew through traffic in front to score his second goal in two straight games.
Four minutes into the third period, David Jiricek took a seat for slashing Ondrej Palat. Timo Meier won the initial faceoff and Arseni Gritsyuk grabbed the loose puck. He took a quick shot to score his first of the season.
Halfway into the third, the Wild tallied their first goal. Zeev Buium skated the puck through the Devils’ offensive zone and passed it to Joel Eriksson Ek in the neutral zone. He skated it into the Wild zone and passed it to Matt Boldy. His shot banked off the crossbar to score his fifth of the season.
While the Wild were down, they pulled Gustavsson from the net to try and make a comeback. With a minute and change left in the game, Jesper Bratt gained control of the puck in the Wild zone. He sent it across ice, and it hit the target of the empty net to ensure the Devils’ win.
Next Up
The Devils will stay at home and host the San Jose Sharks on Friday, Oct. 24. The Wild will head home after this five-game road trip and host the Utah Mammoth on Saturday, Oct. 25.
