Dougie Hamilton scored 33 seconds into the third period, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 18 saves to help the New Jersey Devils secure a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.
Jesper Bratt set up Hamilton with a perfect cross-crease pass, positioning him to the right of Ducks goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
“I was hoping Jesper would get that puck across. Obviously, I knew he could do it and that he would see me just sitting there,” Hamilton said. “I thought I was going to miss for sure, but it’s almost one of those where it was too easy.”
Blackwood came up big, especially on a power play stop against Ducks’ leading scorer Troy Terry midway through the third period, as New Jersey held on for their first win of the season after two losses.
Dawson Mercer added an insurance goal with 7:11 left in the game.
Anaheim forward Jakob Silfverberg scored twice in the first period to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead. However, Devils’ forwards Ondrej Palat and Nico Hischier each netted their first goals of the season in the second period to tie the game.
“Obviously, it’s always fun to get on the scoresheet,” Silfverberg said. “It felt good after the first, but worse after the second and even worse after the third.”
Devils coach Lindy Ruff praised his goaltender, who made a crucial save on a breakaway by former Devil Adam Henrique midway through the second period. Blackwood, who had an injury-plagued season last year, showed his resilience.
“I think when you ramp up the pressure — and we were fatigued a bit — he made a big save on a breakdown,” Ruff said. “You look at big saves giving us an opportunity to get back in the game, and he did that.”
Silfverberg’s first goal came at 7:57 of the first period, assisted by Isac Lundestrom after a faceoff win. He added another goal with 6:52 left in the period.
Stolarz, who had a large contingent of family members in attendance, made 37 saves in total, including a crucial stop on Devils forward Nathan Bastain as the first period ended.
After winning their home opener against Seattle, the Ducks were coming off two tough losses in New York: 7-1 to the Islanders and 6-4 to the Rangers.
“I thought we’ve got a healthy dose of what back-to-back games feel like in this league. As the game went on, I thought we made some tired mistakes,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “We didn’t manage their pushes or their pressure, and you’ve got to learn how to do that back-to-back games when one team is fresh and the other one’s not.”
New Jersey fans showed their frustration with boos after Silfverberg’s second goal, but the Devils managed to turn the tide in the second period, firing 20 shots and scoring twice.
“We persevered,″ Ruff said. “We were facing some adversity, but Nico and his guys did a great job.”
Palat scored his first goal as a Devil at 4:17 of the second period, assisted by Ryan Graves and Jack Hughes. Palat signed a five-year, $30 million contract with New Jersey in July after spending his 10-year career with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Hischier, the Devils’ captain, tied the game with his first goal of the season with 5:12 left in the second period. The 23-year-old Swiss forward was pleased with how his team shifted momentum after a difficult first period.
“We cleaned it up and got the crowd back on our side,” Hischier said. ”Guys had a lot of energy, and we executed, so it was a great comeback win.”
MILESTONES
Ruff earned his 783rd career win, moving into fifth place all-time, ahead of Al Arbour. The 62-year-old Ruff has coached Buffalo, Dallas, and now New Jersey.
Game Notes
The Devils scratched defenseman Kevin Bahl and forwards Jesper Boqvist and Fabian Zetterlund. The Ducks scratched defensemen Nathan Beaulieu, Colton White, and forward Pavol Regenda. The Devils and Ducks split their two meetings last season. They will meet again on Jan. 13 in Anaheim.
UP NEXT
- Devils: At New York Islanders on Thursday night.
- Ducks: At Boston on Thursday night.
