On Wednesday, January 22nd, the Devils ended their four-game losing streak with a convincing 5-1 victory over the Bruins at Prudential Center. This performance showcased a much-needed spark and a renewed sense of determination. This is a setback for the Bruins, who followed their excellent 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks with this loss. They’ve struggled to find consistency lately, with their results fluctuating between wins and losses. Dawson Mercer led New Jersey’s offensive charge, scoring two goals to propel his team to victory. Morgan Geekie opened the scoring for Boston with a one-timer, but the Devils gained control and ultimately dominated the game. The Devils head to Montreal on Saturday to take on the Canadiens, and the Bruins will be hosting the Senators on Thursday.
New Jersey Devils Lineup:
Cotter – Hughes – Bastian
Noesen – Hischier – Bratt
Meier – Dowling – Mercer
MacDermid – Lazar – Tatar
Dillon – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
Hughes – Pesce
Markstrom
Allen
Boston Bruins Lineup:
Marchand – Poitras – Coyle
Geekie – Zacha – Pastrnak
Wahlstrom – Lindholm – Lettieri
Jones – Beecher – Brazeau
Zadorov – Peeke
Oesterle – Carlo
Lohrei – Wotherspoon
Swayman
Korpisalo
Morgan Geekie struck with 14:10 remaining in the first period, opening the scoring to put Boston ahead 1-0 with his 12th goal of the season. He took a pass from David Pastrnak, who was on the right side, got the puck from Pavel Zacha, and fired a one-timer past Jacob Markstrom from the left face-off circle.
Early into the second at 18:36, Dawson Mercer pulled the Devils into a 1-1 tie, scoring on a snap shot after spinning at the right hashmark. His initial attempt to find the back of the net popped back out and Timo Meier went around the back of the net from the right side to the left, carrying the puck, and then sent it back to Mercer, who was successful on his second shot. Not long after the Devils’ tally, Jacob Markstrom had to leave the game after Justin Brazeau crashed into him on a shot attempt. Brazeau had been penalized for goaltender interference. Dougie Hamilton scored a goal on the power play, picking up his seventh goal of the season for the 2-1 lead at 15:48 when he received the puck from Jesper Bratt and scored from the left face-off circle just inside the left post on a snap shot. With another power-play goal, Stefan Noesen made it a 3-1 lead for New Jersey on his 18th goal of the season with 3:59 left to play in the middle frame. He got ahold of the puck after a shot by Nico Hischier, who took a pass from Jack Hughes, bounced to him, stuffing it in on the left side. Mercer recorded another goal, his second of the night and his 12th of the season, only 12 seconds later from the slot on a snap shot to extend it to 4-1.
Nico Hischier tipped in a shot from Dougie Hamilton, who was down just above the blue line, on the power play with just 6:28 to play in the third period. He tipped it in from the slot on his 23rd goal of the season for the 5-1 final.
Post-Game Notes
– Jacob Markstrom allowed just one on seven shots before he sustained an undisclosed injury in the middle frame… Jake Allen made 16 saves in shutout relief. …This had been Allen’s first win since the 23rd of November.
– Jeremy Swayman allowed four on 29 shots in the first two frames before being replaced by Joonas Korpisalo in the third, who made five saves on six shots.
– Dougie Hamilton picked up both a goal and an assist, Timo Meier gathered a pair of assists, and Nico Hischier had a three-point night; one goal, two assists. …Hischier had his 22nd three-point game of his NHL career, tying Kevin Fiala and Meier for second-most by a Switzerland-born skater behind Roman Josi, who has 37 games.
– NJ: 27-17-6, BOS: 23-20-6
– In their past five games, the Bruins are 3-1-1.
– In their past five games, the Devils are 1-2-2.
– David Pastrnak’s multipoint streak ended at four games, but picked up an assist to add to a point streak, extending it to five games (12 points; five goals and seven assists).
– Prior to this game, the Devils inducted former head coach Jacques Lemaire into their Ring of Honor. Lemaire is the winningest coach in NJ Devils history – 276-166-10 with 57 ties – and led the club to their first Stanley Cup in 1995.
Season 4. Episode 34. Marco? Polo? – Bruins Benders Podcast
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