Blackwood records first NHL win in victory over Boston

BOSTON, MA - Fresh off the holiday break, the New Jersey Devils were back to work and took little time to find their game. Damon Severson had the Devils opening goal in the first 25 seconds of the game and rookie goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood stood tall against the Bruins in a 5-2 victory in Boston. Nico Hischier had the Devils fourth goal night with his 10th of the season, and Blake Coleman had a two-goal performance.

New Jersey capped off their long day of morning skate in New Jersey, traveling to Boston on a game day with their 13th victory of the season.
Here are 10 takeaways from the game:
1. Mackenzie Blackwood was the Devils starter out of the holiday break. Blackwood saw 29 shots in the first two periods alone, allowing just a single goal in the opening 40 minutes. Blackwood finished the night making 40 saves on 42 shots.
2. Blackwood made 18 saves on 19 shots in the second period alone on Thursday night, the second time this season that New Jersey has allowed at least 19 shots in a single period. Their season-high was 21, back on October 30th at Tampa Bay.
3. New Jersey was missing their top winger, Taylor Hall, who did not make the trip to Boston due to a lower body injury. In Hall's absence, Jesper Bratt held the spot of first line left-winger. Bratt skated with Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri against the Bruins, Bratt registered three shots in 16:08 of ice time.
4. It didn't take long for the Devils to find their stride out of the holiday break. Damon Severson scored to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead on Boston just 25 seconds into the game. The goal from the right circle is the fastest the Devils have scored in a game this season, with Severson eclipsing the mark set by Travis Zajac earlier this season (:28).

Andy Greene and Zajac assisted on the goal for their ninth and 20th points respectively this season.
5. The Severson goal is the third time this season that New Jersey has scored a goal in the opening minute of a game. Zajac, as previously mentioned, scored 28 seconds into the game against Pittsburgh on November 13, while Kyle Palmieri scored in the opening minute of the Devils season opener, on his first shot on goal this season while in Sweden, against the Oilers.
6. 35 games after Palmieri scored that opening goal, the first-line winger had his 19th of the season. Palmieri was the beneficiary of a strange bounce on the power play. The Devils initial shot was stopped by Bruins netminder Jaroslav Halak, which ricocheted off of his defenseman Brandon Carlo and back to Halak where the puck went up and over the netminder, to give the Devils a 2-0 lead at 15:25 of the first period.
With his 19th goal in 36 games, Palmieri becomes the first Devils player since Zach Parise in the 2008-09 season to reach that mark in the opening 36 games.

Will Butcher (10) and Brian Boyle (5) were awarded the assists.
7. Palmieri continues to pile on the points this season with 34 in 36 games. In his last five games, Palmieri has two goals and four assists for six points.
8. Special teams were a strong suit for New Jersey on the road in Boston. The Devils power play went 1-for-4 while the penalty kill was a 2-for-2. New Jersey entered the game with the leagues 7th best penalty kill, with an 83.3% success rate, while the power play is ranked 21st in the league scoring at a 17.7% clip.
9. Blake Coleman restored the Devils two-goal lead at the 4:15 mark of the third period when he was sprung on a semi-breakaway in the neutral zone. Coleman used his strength to fight off the Bruins defender from his back and went forehand to backhand on Halak for his 10th goal of the season.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Just dill with it, @BColes25 has some wheels on this one! 💨 #NJDvsBOS pic.twitter.com/Bl2cYizupj
Coleman has 10 goals through 36 games this season. Last season, Coleman scored his 10th goal of the season in game 73 and finished with 13.
10. Pavel Zacha did everything he could to generate offense for his team. He recorded a personal-best seven shots on net against Boston.
The Devils will return home for a two-game stint ahead of the New Year. The Devils host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon for Kids Day at The Rock, before welcoming the Vancouver Canucks Monday afternoon. New Jersey will depart on New Year's Day for a four-game, eight-day road trip to kick off 2019.