Connect with us

Hockey

Slew of Goals in First Help Propel Devils Past Senators 6-3

Palmieri scores twice.

palmieri goal

Kyle Palmieri of the Devils celebrates a goal against the Senators. Photo Credit: Buce Bennett/Getty Images

 

EAST HANOVER, NJ – Joseph Blandisi earned his first NHL goal and recorded two assists, Kyle Palmieri scored twice and Travis Zajac found the back of the cage for the first time in 27 games as the New Jersey Devils exploded for five goals in the first 17:24 of play, en route to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night at the Prudential Center.

Perhaps the biggest achilles heel for the Devils (24-19-5) this season has been a lack of scoring. That is something that has plagued them recently when they lost 5 of 6, dating back to just over two weeks ago. Not anymore. New Jersey has now won three in a row for the second time this season, scoring 12 goals in as many games.

The start for New Jersey was like something out of a dream for a potent offense. Everything seemed to be going right. Infact, four of their first eight shots ended up in the net. They also connected on both of their power-play chances in the first period.

It is hard to pick out a star for the Devils in a game in which everyone was doing their part. A strong case can be made for Zajac. Along with his goal, he also dished out three assists beforehand.

Certainly, the feel good story from the game was Blandisi’s first goal in the NHL. He redirected a shot in from the point off the stick of teammate David Schlemko to get things started for New Jersey. He assisted on Palmieri’s first goal when the Devils gained a 2-0 edge and on Zajac’s, when he fed him a beautiful pass right in front to make the score 4-0.

That tally forced Senators goaltender Craig Anderson out of his net as Ottawa looked to change momentum with a new face in their crease in Andrew Hammond.

It did not work. Less than four minutes later, Lee Stempniak took advantage of some sloppy play near his own blue line. He took the puck the length of the ice and welcomed Hammond with a nice backhand, forehand move to cap a five goal first period for the Devils.

New Jersey did allow Ottawa to make an attempt at a comeback. The score was 5-1 at the end of the second and 5-3 toward the end of the third, but Adam Henrique added an open netter to make the score 6-3 with just 18 seconds left to cap the victory.

Corey Schneider finished with 29 saves on Thursday night. The Devils were outshot 26-10 through the final two periods.

The Devils are now tied with the Boston Bruins with 53 points apiece for the top wildcard spot and will look to win four in row for the first time this season when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Jets on Saturday at 7p.m.

 

 

 

 

     


   

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Hockey