Devils Deliver Win for Dads, 4-2 in Pittsburgh | GAME STORY

This morning, Nico Hischier spoke about not thinking about fancy plays, just going out and getting the job done.
Especially with Dads and mentors in the building.
A man of his word, Hischier scored the go-ahead goal tonight for the New Jersey Devils, a shorthanded goal for his 15th goal of the season.
Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton and Hischier delivered the win with their goals, while Vitek Vanecek picked up his 13th win of the season.
Hughes' second goal of the night secured the victory, hitting the empty net with four seconds to play.
"It was definitely a big relief when we scored that empty-net (goal)," Hischier said post-game, "I think we worked really hard for that win. That would have been a really tough one if we somehow lost that game. We just battled as hard as we could, came back twice and that's definitely a character win. We got the bounces this time and I think we've just got to keep going like that."
The game was one that relied heavily on special teams with 14 penalties between the two teams, including the Devils having to kill off a double-minor to Erik Haula. Damon Severson, who plays in all situations, logged a team-high 30:41, just short of his career-high of 30:56.
"You don't think about it, you just play," Severson said, "After the game when you're told about how much you play or see how much you play, it's like ok well, it seemed like that. It was a busy game for special teams but I had a blast playing and it was just really good to come out on top."
Hischier, also a player used in all situations, played over 23 minutes, the most of any forward, including 6:03 on the power play and 6:51 on the penalty kill.
"Tonight was a game where, even with Haula in the penalty box on the four-minute minor, we had to load up on him on the penalty kill," Lindy Ruff said of Hischier, "he gave us everything he had and scored a big goal. It was a really good effort from our top guys, and I think when you start winning hockey games, your top guys are the ones who pull you through."
The New Jersey Devils have closed out 2022 with a big divisional matchup, 4-2 against the Penguins.

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The Devils kick off 2023 hosting the Carolina Hurricanes in a 3 p.m. matchup at Prudential Center.
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Here are some observations from the game...
- For a stretch of 10 minutes in the first period, the Devils held the Penguins without a single shot on goal, but that goodwill swiftly evaporated when Evgeni Malkin stripped Dougie Hamilton of the puck at the blue line to spring himself on a breakaway and with a shot like Malkin's he rarely misses.

He beat Vitek Vanecek one-on-one to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 14:26 of the first. Hamilton played just two shits in the remainder of the period, totaling 46 seconds (:34, :12). His first-period ice-time total was 5:21.  

"We talked about that, the shift after a goal matters," Hischier said, "we can't let our heads sink, and just feel sorry about ourselves or point fingers. There's lots of hockey left. They try their best too, so the next shift matters and you could see the first goal, after the goal, the line that went out there, they went out there, played hard and brought back the momentum to us." - In the second period, Hamilton scored on Jarry but the goal was immediately called back for goaltender interference when Erik Haula skated through the blue paint, but after killing off the bench minor, as a result of a failed challenge, the Devils finally made it count when Hamilton fed Jack Hughes on the power play for the official game-tying goal.

Hughes' goal was threading a needle, finding the smallest opening between Tristan Jarry's shoulder and the top of the crease. Hughes shot it so quickly it ricocheted out of the net before some even realized it had gone in.

The goal was his 19th of the season and his 40th point of the year. - Hamilton's assist on Hughes' goal was his 400th career point. - There were ten penalties in the opening 40 minutes between the Devils and Penguins, including three bench minors (NJ - 2, PIT - 1).

The game ended with 14 penalties between both teams.

"It was a hectic game," Hischier said of all the penalties, "we've got to clean up some penalties, if we do that every night it's going to be tough to win but definitely it feels really good that win." - Hamilton was finally able to avenge his error in the first period by scoring a goal that would count. In the second period, pinching down in the play, he wired a shot past Jarry to tie the game at two. The goal was his 30th point of the season. - On the tenth penalty of the game - a Yegor Sharangovivch high-stick with less than two minutes to play in the second - the Devils were aggressive in their play on the penalty kill and they found some good fortune courtesy of the captain Nico Hischier who was fed the puck by Michael McLeod in the neutral zone, with Malkin and P.O. Joseph defending against the McLeod/Hischier rush. From the faceoff dot, Hischier snapped the puck past Jarry to give his team their first lead of the game at 19:22 of the second. - Hischier has two goals in his last two games after going goalless in his previous five.

Tweet from @NJDevils: Let's freakin' GO, NICO! pic.twitter.com/TcQpUQ6l7M - Nico Hischier took a rare penalty, called for goaltender interference in the third period. It was just his second penalty of the season. - The Devils have four shorthanded goals this season. In each game where a shorthanded goal was scored, the club also scored a power-play goal and even strength goal, including tonight in Pittsburgh. - Erik Haula was handed the 14th penalty of the evening, a double-minor for a high-stick with just over ten minutes to play in the game, which felt like a really critical moment in the game.