On Thursday night, the New Jersey Devils traveled to Elmont, New York, to face one of their foes, the Islanders. The Devils came in with a 1-2 record after achieving their first win against the Ducks on Tuesday. The Islanders were also coming off a Tuesday win over the Sharks.
Blackwood started between the New Jersey pipes, while Ilya Sorokin lined up across from him in the other net for the Islanders. The puck dropped at 7:30, and immediately New Jersey came out pressing as they have done so often. However, once again, the Devils could not capitalize on their chances. The first period ended 0-0, and the Devils outshot the Islanders 15-3, but with those 15 shots, none of them found the back of the net.
Similar to the last Devils game, I am not sure what head coach Lindy Ruff told his team, but it got them going as they came out firing again. However, this time they were able to get one past Sorokin. 1:35 seconds into the second, Jack Hughes received a long pass from Damon Severson, eventually backhanding the puck between Sorokin’s pads on a breakaway. This was Hughes’ first goal in this campaign.
At the eight-minute mark, Ondrej Palat got the Devils ahead by two as he found a way past Sorokin. The assist came from Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier. That assist marked Bratts sixth in four games.
The third period began 2-0 Devils, and the second goal repeated itself as Ondrej Palat scored his second of the game, assisted by who else but Jesper Bratt. Nico Hisvhier had the secondary assist as well.
Once the Devils went up 3-0, Blackwood’s shutout ended as the puck shot by Anders Lee trickled in. The Islanders still had hope, and they pulled Sorokin to get an extra skater, but at the 19:25 mark, Nico Hischier found the empty net, sealing the game as the Devils achieved their second win this season.
The New Jersey Devils are back at it on Saturday at 1:00 pm against the San Jose Sharks in the Prudential Center. Could the Devils possibly spark a three-game winning streak against the struggling Sharks?
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