Devils Blow Out Flyers to Finish Homestand | GAME STORY

The goals came fast and furious for the Devils in a 7-0 victory against visiting Philadelphia Saturday night at Prudential Center.
Jonas Siegenthaler, Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, Nico Hischier, Dougie Hamilton, Jesper Bratt and Nathan Bastian all picked up goals for New Jersey. Goaltender Akira Schmid made 25 saves for his first career shutout.
Fourteen different Devils recorded a point.
The Devils finished their four-game homestand with a 3-1 mark. New Jersey has won eight of its last nine home games. With the victory and Carolina's 3-2 loss to Anaheim, the Devils are three points back for the top spot in the Metro Division.

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The Devils hit the road for a three-game road swing starting in Colorado Wednesday night. The game can be seen on MSGSN and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 9:08 p.m. ET.
Here are some observations from the game...
- Mercer continued his absolute torrid pace by scoring his 19th goal of the season. Captain Nico Hischier retrieved a puck in the right corner and found Mercer in the slot. The 21-year-old buried the shot. That tally extended his goal/point streak to six games, totaling eight goals and 10 points in that stretch. The last time a Devils player recorded a six-game goal-scoring streak was Adam Henrique (Feb. 27 to March 8, 2014).

The game was also Mercer's 141st straight game, having played in every Devils' contest since the opener last season. That 141 consecutive-game mark is the longest streak to start a career for a player in franchise history, surpassing Scott Gomez (140, 1999-01) who was in the building with his 2003 Stanley Cup teammates to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the title run. Gomez gave Mercer the game puck for breaking the record.

"It was pretty special. Something I've been proud of throughout my career," Mercer said. "For him to be in the building just to witness that, to be there and give it to me, it's a special time."

- Hughes scored his 36th of the year. It started with a great play by Siegenthaler (see below) to spring Hughes for a breakaway. He deked and faked like he was going to pull the puck to his backhand, getting goaltender Samuel Ersson to open up his pads. Then Hughes quickly whipped the puck through the five-hole with a sick display of hands and quick thinking/reaction. It was Hughes' 36th goal of the season and first since returning from an upper-body injury (fifth game). - Hughes made an unbelievable spin-o-rama backhand pass to set up Bratt's goal. Hughes is worth the price of admission every night. - Of all the players in the lineup, of course it would Siegenthaler who broke open the scoring. The Swiss blueliner picked up his third goal of the season early in the second period. He unleashed a long-range floating wrister that found its way through a screen, the goaltender and into the netting.

Siegenthaler wasn't done there. He stole a puck off the stick of Scott Laughton at his own blue line and fed Hughes for a breakaway that resulted in a goal. Siegenthaler finished the night with a career-high (tied) three points (1g-2a).

- Five games ago, Siegenthaler was a healthy scratch. He admitted could play better. He certainly proved himself tonight.

"I try to play my game, play simple. The last couple games where I got scratched I started from scratch, start from zero and work my way up, get to my best game again. I think I'm on the right track. My goal is to play solid and help the team out in those dirty areas. I'm really happy that we played really good over 60 minutes tonight."

"I think he's taken a real good step. It starts with, he's been physical. His defending has been good. We're not really looking at him for point, points are a bonus," Ruff said. "I think his reset on the defensive side is something, admittedly he needed to be better. I think when his self evolution comes in and he looked at his game and he got out and got his chance again, he looks like the guy that we had in the first 30, 40 games."

- Siegenthaler couldn't have scored his goal if not for a great individual effort by Miles Wood. The Devils forward was behind the net and had to fight through a body check by Nick Seeler along the boards. Then he outraced Patrick Brown to the corner and with one arm on his stick reached out and poked it along the boards the Siegenthaler.

"At first I thought (Wood) tipped it," Siegenthaler said. "But he gave me the celly so I scored. I took it."

- Hamilton picked up his 17th goal of the season in the third period. That is the fourth most in franchise history by a defenseman (Barry Beck, 22, 1977-78; Rob Ramage, 20, 1980-81; Scott Stevens, 18, 1993-94). - Schmid became the fifth Swiss goaltender to record a shutout in NHL history.

"I just focused on the next save," Schmid said. "At the end, the last three, four minutes maybe (I thought about the shutout). Before that you just stop the puck and help your team out."

"You want to keep it at 0 for him," Siegenthaler said. "It's always nice to boost the confidence of the goalie a little bit. He deserves it a lot. That's what we tried to do. That's we said on the bench, 'let's do it for Akira.'"