On Thursday night, Ondrej Palat netted two goals, propelling the New Jersey Devils to a 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders.
Nico Hischier added a goal and two assists, Jack Hughes scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 16 saves for the Devils, who secured their second consecutive win after losing their first two games.
“We saw what’s working and what’s not in the first and last two games,” Palat said. “We are playing better and better, and hopefully, we can grow as a team. We have a lot of speed and some young legs on the team, which showed today. We were relentless, winning battles, and skated well, which was great for us.”
Anders Lee scored for the Islanders, and Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves.
“We were pretty flat, especially to start the game,” Islanders forward Zach Parise said. “It didn’t seem like we had our legs early, and I think they jammed us up pretty well in the neutral zone. We weren’t making great plays, so we could never generate much speed.”
Hughes scored at 1:35 of the second period, slipping the puck between Sorokin’s legs after a perfect stretch pass from defenseman Damon Severson. It was Hughes’ first goal of the season.
Palat doubled the lead at 8:09 with his second goal in as many games. He scored again with 4:32 remaining in the third period.
New Jersey signed Palat to a five-year, $30 million deal after the Czech forward helped Tampa Bay win two Stanley Cup championships.
“We won the foot races, we won the transition game, we played real quick, and that was our goal,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “Really good puck support. We were getting out of the zone really well because of the support from underneath. That’s a recipe for winning games.”
Lee scored from the top of the crease to cut the Devils’ lead to 3-1 with 3:16 remaining, with Sorokin off for an extra attacker. Hischier added an empty-net goal in the final minute.
“They came pretty hard, they were fast,” Islanders defenseman Robin Salo said. “We just weren’t ready for how fast they came out. We kind of just stood around a little bit too much. We must be quicker and more ready for their play style.”
Game notes
The Islanders scratched forwards Kieffer Bellows, Ross Johnston, and Nikita Soshnikov. The Devils scratched forwards Jesper Boqvist, Alexander Holtz, and Fabian Zetterlund. The teams will meet again on December 9 in Newark for the second of three matchups this season.
UP NEXT:
- Devils: Host San Jose on Saturday.
- Islanders: At Tampa Bay on Saturday night.
