The New Jersey Devils remain the third best club in the NHL with a come from behind 3-1 win over the visiting Seattle Kraken for their 5th straight home win dating back to January 7. On a night that saw the club without leading goal scorer Jack Hughes due to injury. Dougie Hamilton picked up two power play goals, along with John Marino adding an empty netter while Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves.
With no scoring in the first, former Devil Adam Larsson opened up the scoring 14:05 into the second with a low shot from the right side of the blue line that snuck past Blackwood for the 1-0 score. Hamilton responded just 24 seconds later with the first power play goal of the night on a one-timer just 5 seconds into the Devils power play. With the Devs strongest period this season being the third, Hamilton picked up his second of the night at the midway point of the period with another setup from Ondrej Palat for the club’s first lead of the night. Marino was able to add the empty netter from just outside the red line off the right post to seal the team’s win.
“I think it’s just opportunity to play with good players and get in those spots,” Hamilton said. “That’s pretty much it for me. I don’t think about it too much, just try to keep playing and get better. I think I can play better still. I think it’s working, but I need to play better still.”
Next up the Devils have a day off before playing an 8pm game Saturday night against the visiting Minnesota Wild, a team currently in the second wild card spot while in the midst of a three-game losing streak.
5 Notes:
1) As mentioned, Jersey’s team has won 5 straight at home, improving to 15-10-3 at the Rock this season, a record good for 11th best now in the NHL.
2) With his two goals, Dougie Hamilton is now at 51 points in 50 games, a new record for points by a defenseman through 50 games.
3) With the win, the Devils magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now 21, meaning any combination of Devils wins and the losses by all the teams in playoff contention will get the club to their first playoff appearance since 2018.
4) In his five starts since the start of 2023, Mackenzie Blackwood has turned away 182 out of 198 shots, good for a 91.9% save percentage. The club has gone 2-1-2 in his 2023 starts.
5) The Devils have a +25 goal differential in the third period, good for third best in the league behind (no surprise) the Boston Bruins, but also the Dallas Stars as well.
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