Jack Hughes netted two goals, and Nico Hischier added a short-handed goal, propelling the New Jersey Devils to a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.
The Devils boast a record of 19-3-2 when Hischier scores a point and 11-4-1 when Hughes finds the net.
Dougie Hamilton also scored for the Devils, who snapped a two-game skid. Despite recent struggles, New Jersey has secured two wins in their last ten games.
“It was a really good effort by our top guys,” said Devils coach Lindy Ruff. “When you start winning hockey games, your top guys are the ones who pull you through.”
New Jersey continues to excel on the road with a 13-2-1 record this season, second-best in the NHL. This marks a significant improvement from their 11-26-4 road record last season.
Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves for the Devils, who are 21-3-2 when scoring three or more goals in a game this season.
“There are many different ways to win a game,” Ruff said. “When you go through the year, you must win games like this.”
Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter scored for the Penguins, who have now lost four straight and five of six following a seven-game win streak. Tristan Jarry stopped 24 shots.
“A loss is a loss, but I think it’s better than the two previous games,” Jarry said. “It’s trending in the right direction.”
Pittsburgh was without top defenseman Kris Letang, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Their power play, which had scored in 11 of the previous 12 games, went 0 for 9, including a four-minute power play midway through the third period.
“It’s hard to be critical of (the power play),” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. They’ve been pretty dynamic for the last 10 or so games. The power play has been winning games for us.”
Malkin opened the scoring at 14:26 with a breakaway goal, taking the puck from Hamilton at the defensive blue line and beating Vanecek’s glove side. The goal moved Malkin ahead of Sergei Fedorov for the second-most points in NHL history among Russian-born players.
Hamilton appeared to tie the game at 3:21 of the second, but the goal was overturned due to goaltender interference.
Hughes’ power-play goal at 6:18 counted. He sent a shot underneath the crossbar from the left circle for his 19th of the season.
It was Hughes’ 16th career power-play goal, tying him with Paul Gagne for fifth in franchise history among players younger than 22. Hamilton’s assist was his 400th NHL point, placing him 13th among active defensemen.
Carter gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead at 12:30 of the second, but the Devils scored two goals in the final 2:23 period. Hamilton tied the game at 17:37 off a feed from Dawson Mercer, and Hischier scored with 37.1 seconds remaining in the second.
“I had a lot of speed, and I wanted the puck,” Hischier said. I was pretty sure I could go outside, so I decided to shoot the puck. If you shoot the puck, good things happen.”
UP NEXT
- Devils: Host Carolina on Sunday.
- Penguins: Face Boston on Monday at Fenway Park in the NHL’s annual Winter Classic.
