The New Jersey Devils added to their league leading victory total with a dominant 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at the Prudential Center on Tuesday.
Dougie Hamilton had three points and the games opening goal in the first period — his seventh of the season. Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt tallied goals in the second period to all but put the game on ice. Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves for his second shutout of the season.
“It’s not just me, you know, like the team playing really good,” said Vanecek, who is now 12-2-1. “Honest, I’m happy I can be here. Everybody’s happy when we’re winning. It’s always fun so it’s not just me, it’s the team.”
Here is a stat for you: New Jersey is now 10-0-1 against the Western Conference, and 19-1-1 when scoring at least three goals in a game this season. The Devils are also 18-0-1 when Hischier earns a point.
Meanwhile, the New York Islanders found themselves in a wild one, falling to the St. Louis Blue 7-4. The Islanders and Blues combined to score seven goals in the third period alone. St. Louis built a 5-1 lead before Zach Parise, Hudson Fasching and Jean-Gabriel Pageau all scored in succession for the Islanders to cut the deficit to 5-4. St. Louis put the game away when Robert Thomas hit an empty netter with less than two minutes to go.
