Blake Coleman opened the scoring on the penalty kill, recording the Devils ninth short-handed goal of the season. New Jersey is now tied for second in the league in shorthanded goals with BUF, ANA and EDM. Coleman added his second goal of the game in the third period, for his third multi-point game of the season and his first multi-goal game of his career.
Travis Zajac tied Petr Sykora for 7th in franchise history when he scored the 166th goal of his career. Stefan Noesen had the game-winning goal, 2:31 into the second period.
Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, and Michael Grabner each had a goal and an assist. It was Grabner's fifth multi-point game of the season and his first points as a Devil.
Brian Gibbons added two assists for his first points since returning to the Devils lineup Mar. 8 vs. Winnipeg, after missing 22 games Jan. 22-Mar. 6, with a broken thumb.
Kyle Palmieri scored his eighth power play goal of the season with help from Patrick Maroon. Maroon has six points (1G-5A) in seven games played with New Jersey.
Andy Greene, Will Butcher, Damon Severson, Brian Boyle and Sami Vatanen each chipped in with an assist.
Keith Kinkaid stopped 39 of 42 shots (.929 SV%) and earned his 18th victory of the season. He 8-2-0 in his last 10 starts.
TONIGHT vs LOS ANGELES KINGS
New Jersey will close out their season series against Los Angeles after defeating the Kings, 5-1, Dec. 12 at Prudential Center and snapping the Kings eight-game winning streak. Los Angeles will be the clubs third stop on their season long six-game road trip. The Devils are 2-0-0 after defeating Nashville and Vegas.
The Devils are 6-5-2 against the Pacific Division and 13-11-3 against all Western Conference opponents. Since the 2013-14 season, the club is 3-1-0 against the Kings at Staples Center and 4-4-0 overall.
New Jersey held the Kings to 17 shots on Dec. 12, which is their second lowest shot total against in 2017-18 (Feb. 3 vs. PIT, 3-1 W, 16 shots against).
Taylor Hall led the Devils in their first meeting with two goals (PP/GW, EV) in only 16:31 TOI. Hall left the game and did not return, after suffering a right-knee contusion in the third period.
Brian Gibbons also recorded two points (1G-1A) for the Devils and scored his team-leading third shorthanded goal of the season at 19:49 of the third period. Gibbons is tied for first in the league with five shorthanded points (3G-2A) and third with three shorthanded goals.
Travis Zajac and Brian Boyle scored the other two goals for the Devils, while Will Butcher, Jimmy Hayes, Stefan Noesen, Blake Coleman and Jesper Bratt each picked up one assist.
Cory Schneider stopped 16 of 17 shots (.941 SV%) in the win. Schneider is 5-4-0 (.923 SV%, 2.05 GAA) in his career against the Kings, while Keith Kinkaid is 2-0-0 (.984 SV%, 0.37 GAA) with one shutout in 3GP against Los Angeles.
