Devils down Blackhawks, 8-5

A two-goal night for Kyle Palmieri, a two-point night for six different Devils, a three-point night for both Blake Coleman and Travis Zajac, and 13 Devils on the board with at least a point against Chicago in the 8-5 victory on Monday night.

The game also marked another victory for rookie netminder Mackenzie Blackwood while New Jersey chased Chicago goalie Cam Ward from the net after 40 minutes of play.
The Devils are winners of back-to-back games for the first time since late December after stringing together two wins in three days at Prudential Center.
Here are 10 takeaways from the game:
1. After helping the Devils into the win column against the Philadelphia Flyers, Mackenzie Blackwood was once again called upon to man the New Jersey net. The Devils netminder entered the game with a 1.85 GAA and .947 save percentage in nine appearances. At Prudential Center this season, Blackwood is 4-0-0 after making 27 saves on 32 shots against Chicago on Monday night.
2. For head coach John Hynes the game against the Blackhawks marked a significant game for the 43-year-old coach. Coaching in his 291st game with the New Jersey Devils, he moves into second place all-time in team history behind Jacques Lemaire (509 games) for most games coached with the franchise.
3. The matchup between New Jersey and Chicago also was a matchup between the NHL's two youngest coaches. At 43 years old, John Hynes had been the youngest coach in the NHL since he was hired in 2015, until November 6, 2018 when the Blackhawks hired Jeremy Colliton as their coach to replace Joel Quenneville. Colliton is just 33 years old, in fact he turned 33 only one day prior to the Devils and Blackhawks meeting at Prudential Center on January 13.
4. For a second consecutive game, a member of the New Jersey Devils came flying out of the penalty box and converted on a breakaway. Against the Flyers on Saturday it was Nico Hischier, on Monday night it was Blake Coleman.
After his teammates killed off his hooking penalty drawn by Chicago's Patrick Kane and with Chicago's Duncan Keith unable to hold the blue line, the puck glided right to the entrance of the penalty box door which Coleman scooped up and went in on Cam Ward faking the backhand leading to an easy forehand goal to give the Devils a 1-0 lead at 13:50 of the first period.

Coleman's goal went unassisted and extends his point streak to a career-high four games (4G-1A, 5pts). Coleman added the empty netter for his second goal of the night with just over thirty seconds to play in the third period.
5. Kyle Palmieri began a run of five goals in the second period for the New Jersey Devils. Palmieri was the beneficiary of a long stretch pass from Sami Vatanen on the power play to beat Ward 5:16 into the second period to take a 3-1 lead on Chicago. The goal was Palmieri's 21st of the season.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Real smooth. Reallll smooooth. #CHIvsNJD pic.twitter.com/DZBNkIsn5B
Vatanen and Hischier assisted on the goal. For Hischier he continues a run of 11 points in his last 12 games with five goals and six assists.
6. It appeared one goal was not enough for Palmieri against the Blackhawks. At 8:27 of the second period Palmieri would score once more on the power play, which ended a run of 18 straight power plays for New Jersey without a goal.
Will Butcher and Travis Zajac were credited with the assists.
7. For Zajac, he finished the night with two points after he tapped home the Devils third goal of the second period. With Miles Wood sliding into the crease with the puck on his stick, Chicago netminder Ward thought he had made the initial stop on Wood, when in fact the puck was just sitting by itself in the crease as Ward slid out of position. Zajac came through the slot to tap in the puck for what might be the easiest goal of his career.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Miles with the speed, Zajac with the tip-in. #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/FAxnUv1zOD
Wood and Coleman were credited with the assists on the Zajac goal that made it a 4-1 game.
8. The Prudential Center crowd were on their feet again at the 14:58 mark of the second period as Sami Vatanen scored the Devils fourth goal of the period. On the power play, Vatanen three times was forced to hold the blue line against Chicago, which he accomplished with relative ease. With Chicago trapped in their defensive zone for an extended period of time, Jesper Bratt found a wide open Vatanen from atop the circle, with Vatanen firing a one-timer past Ward for a 5-1 lead.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Sami with the 💣! #CHIvsNJD pic.twitter.com/zPXNonGVxf
Vatanen's goal assured the Devils went 2-for-2 on the power play in the second period.
9. And it was Kevin Rooney who would cap off a five-goal second period for New Jersey with his first career NHL goal. Drew Stafford made the initial play to drive the puck from the wall to the crease, with Ward making the initial save. The rebound however found Rooney streaking down the slot as he surprises Ward for the Devils 6-1 lead.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Congrats on your first NHL goal, @kroons25! #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/ajaFizvvnx
The assists went to line mates Stafford and Brett Seney. Seney would later add the Devils seventh goal of the game in the third period for a two-point night.
10. With their 5 goals in the second period, New Jersey chased Chicago goaltender Cam Ward from the net after 40-minutes of play. Ward gave up six goals on 25 shots to New Jersey. It is the third time in Ward's career that he has been chased from the net by the Devils. (Credit: Craig Seiden, NJD Radio Statistician)