It’s been 1,006 days, but the New Jersey Devils have finally won their fourth game in a row against the Edmonton Oilers.
Coming off a victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday, despite the injuries, was impressive enough. Head coach Sheldon Keefe fielded plenty of questions about the Devils’ maturation since last season, and he admitted that although they’re not all the way there yet, there are clear signs.
READ MORE: Why the Devils are Showing Signs of Maturity, Not Quite There Yet
However, winning their fourth in a row, something they haven’t done in 31 months, and against the Stanley Cup runner-ups, right after defeating the defending champs, is further evidence that the Devils are trending in the right direction.
Let’s get into the Devils’ 5-3 win over the Oilers on Saturday afternoon.
First Period
Just 1:34 into the opening frame, Dawson Mercer was assessed a two-minute minor for high-sticking Evan Bouchard. However, the 16/17 penalty kill unit notched another kill, and returned the game to even strength.
Despite returning to 5-on-5 hockey, the Oilers maintained offensive zone pressure, putting four pucks on net, testing Jake Allen early. In fact, 10 minutes into the first period, the shot-count was in favor of Edmonton 5-0. Early in the game, the Oilers were strong at clogging the neutral zone, and keeping the Devils to the perimeter in the offensive zone.
The Devils began to even the ice, and Jack Hughes drew the Devils’ first power play of the game at 13:43 of the first. Yet, New Jersey failed to record a shot on goal, and in fact, gave up a shorthanded chance to Matt Savoie, which Allen turned aside.
The Devils returned the pressure in the Oilers’ end of the ice for another scoring chance, however, the buzzer sounded and the first period ended scoreless.
Second Period
Similar to the first period, the Devils took another early penalty to start the second when Jesper Bratt tripped Jack Roslovic at New Jersey’s blueline.
Yet, the PK unit stood tall once again, killing their 15th penalty in a row, and 18/19 in 2025-26 thus far.
Halfway through the middle frame, Jack split three Oilers defenders in Edmonton’s slot, and rifled a shot past Calvin Pickard to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.
At the 15:58 mark, Mattias Ekholm tripped Nico Hischier on a semi-breakaway, sending the Devils to their second power play of the game. It took all of four seconds for Bratt to receive the puck after the opening face-off to bury the Devils’ second goal for a 2-0 lead.
However, in the closing minutes of the second period, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his third goal of the season to cut the Devils’ lead in half, 2-1.
Third Period
Halfway through the third period, the Devils, and Oilers played an even, low-event game while New Jersey maintained a one-goal lead.
The Oilers went to their fourth power play at the 09:58 mark after Cody Glass was whistled for high-sticking.
However, against his former team, Connor Brown found a loose puck at the Devils’ blueline, and with a burst of speed, sprung himself for a breakaway and beat Pickard to pad New Jersey’s lead at 3-1.
The Devils then killed their fourth penalty of the game, bringing the PK unit to 19 kills in their last 20. They’re also 16/16 since Oct. 13th, with a plus-2 goal differential.
Back on the attack, Jack scored his second goal of the game and his third of the season, after he and Bratt forced a turnover in the Oilers zone to take a 4-1 lead.
With 3:30 on the board, the Oilers pressured in the offensive zone, and Nugent-Hopkins deposited his second goal of the game to cut the Devils’ lead to 4-2.
The Oilers pulled Pickard for the extra attacker, but with 1:07 left on the board, Mercer scored to give the Devils a 5-2 lead.
Curtis Lazar scored a late goal against the Devils with 1.7 seconds left to make it a 5-3 game.
The final buzzer sounded, and the Devils secured their fourth win of the season, and in a row. Allen turned in yet another strong performance, stopping 27 of 29 shots.
