James Birle
The New Jersey Devils broke a five-game skid that extended to before the Olympic interruption with a 3-1 victory over the lowly St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
It was the first time the Devils have scored two or more goals in six games.
Timo Meier got the scoring started with an early snipe in the second period before Dougie Hamilton doubled the score with a powerplay howitzer in the closing seconds of the middle frame. Nico Hischier deposited the insurance empty-net goal with under five seconds to play.
Pavel Buchnevich poked home a consolation goal in the final minutes of regulation after Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom left his goal open looking for a full-ice empty netter.
Markstrom improved his record to 16-14-1 and was 1:18 from picking up his first shutout of the season.
On the opposite end, Team Canada netminder Jordan Binnington collected his eighth consecutive loss for the Blues, his record worsening to 8-18-6 on the year.
Devils defenseman Luke Hughes made his return to the lineup after sustaining an injury to his shoulder on Jan. 19 against the Calgary Flames. Zack MacEwen and Stefan Noesen remain unavailable on the injured reserve list.
The game presented a return to St. Louis for Devils centerman Nick Bjugstad, who was traded to New Jersey from the Blues on Feb. 4.
St. Louis were without a few key contributors in Colton Parayko, Oskar Sundqvist and Robert Thomas, all unavailable due to injury.
First Period
Both teams came into the game desperate for two points, with the Blues sitting in last in the Central Division having only won one of their last four.
The Devils were looking for their first win since Jan. 29.
Neither side was able to break through in the first 20 minutes, though.
What was a tentative opening frame for the most part, each team traded chances in the opening seven minutes but neither side could break through the goaltenders.
Lenni Hämeenaho, Arseny Gritsyuk and Jack Hughes all managed to create decent half-chances for New Jersey, while Dylan Holloway and Matthew Kessel carved out good looks for the Blues.
Hamilton took a tripping penalty 13 minutes in, but the Devils penalty kill continued its success and snuffed out what was ultimately a toothless man-advantage from the Blues.
The first period ended scoreless, with not much to split the two teams. St. Louis had a 12-11 edge in shots.
Second Period
The game opened up in the second frame, with New Jersey firmly taking control.
It continued a trend of lackluster second periods for St. Louis, who saw the game slip away from them when Meier cashed in his 16th of the season at the 14:23 mark. A well-deserved goal from the Swiss winger, Meier registered 16 attempts and 8 shots on target on the night.
It was the first time the Devils opened the scoring in their last eight games.
New Jersey’s pressure would continue into the late stages of the period, once again fueled by a successful penalty kill.
Just moments after welcoming Meier back to the ice for a high-sticking penalty he served, New Jersey went on the powerplay for the second time of the night, this one with just a minute to play in the middle frame.
With under 20 seconds to go in the period, Jack Hughes wheeled his way around the Blues zone before teeing up Hamilton for a one-time clapper that blew past Binnington for the game’s second goal. It was a huge cushion for the Devils heading into the third, something that has alluded them for quite some time.
Hamilton’s powerplay goal was the first of its kind for New Jersey in 22 opportunities. It was the right-shot defenseman’s eighth goal of the season.
After two periods, the Devils led the Blues 28-18, outshooting St. Louis 17-6 in the second period alone. They also led in high danger chances 18-4 after 40 minutes.
Third Period
With the two goal lead going into the third, the Devils were able to play much more conservatively.
After killing off another weak Blues powerplay early in the third, the game seemed to stall out for a while. The final frame had the least action of any of its predecessors, with just 13 total shots recorded between both teams (St. Louis led 8-5).
That is until the Blues pulled Binnington with a full three minutes to play. Pressure mounted from the Blues but the Devils defense stood tall and was just 1:18 away from securing the shutout.
Markstrom went for glory when he saw the puck on his stick with an empty net down the other end of the ice, but his shot was blocked in the defensive zone by three Blues and tapped into the gaping goal by Buchnevich (his 13th), making it a tense 2-1 game with more hockey to be played.
New Jersey avoided disaster in the final minute and change, insuring the win with an empty netter from the captain. Hischier’s easy goal came with 4.5 seconds to play and waas his team-leading 20th of the year.
For the first time in almost a month, the Devils went on to win a hockey game.
Once again, the Devils saw out the win after going into the third period with the lead, improving to 19-0-0 when leading after two.
New Jersey will be back in action at the Prudential Center on Tuesday night when they face the Florida Panthers for the start of a seven-game homestand.
