Dawson Mercer scored twice during New Jersey’s explosive four-goal second period, propelling the Devils to a 5-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night and snapping a four-game losing streak.
Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists, Dougie Hamilton contributed a goal and an assist, and Stefan Noesen also scored. Timo Meier added two assists to help fuel New Jersey’s offense. Jacob Markstrom started in goal and made six saves before leaving early in the second period after a collision. Jake Allen stepped in and stopped all 16 shots he faced.
Morgan Geekie scored the lone goal for Boston. Jeremy Swayman made 25 saves over two periods, and Joonas Korpisalo stopped five shots in relief during the third.
Geekie opened the scoring at 5:50 of the first period, but Mercer tied the game just 1:24 into the second.
Markstrom exited the game following a collision with Boston forward Justin Brazeau in the crease at 3:09 of the second period.
New Jersey quickly capitalized on the momentum. Hamilton scored a power-play goal at 4:12, followed by another power-play tally from Noesen with less than four minutes left in the period for his 18th of the season. Just 12 seconds later, Mercer added his second goal, extending the lead to 4-1.
Hischier closed out the scoring with his team-leading 23rd goal on the Devils’ third power-play goal of the night, with 6:28 remaining in the game.
Before the game, the Devils honored former coach Jacques Lemaire, who guided the team to its first Stanley Cup in 1995, by inducting him into their Ring of Honor.
Takeaways
Bruins: Boston continued its recent struggles, losing for the eighth time in their last 11 games.
Devils: New Jersey earned its third win of January (3-4-3) and improved to 14-8-2 at Prudential Center this season.
Key Moment
Allen made two crucial saves midway through the third period while the Devils were short-handed, preserving the three-goal cushion.
Key Stat
Jack Hughes assisted on Noesen’s goal and now leads the Devils with 56 points (18 goals, 38 assists).
Up Next
- Bruins: Host the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
- Devils: Travel to Montreal to face the Canadiens on Saturday.
