Devils Shock Knights with Victory in Vegas | GAME STORY

The Devils finished 3-1-1 on their season-long five-game road trip thanks to a 3-2 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights Monday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Nathan Bastian opened the scoring and Andreas Johnsson and Jesper Boqvist picked up third-period tallies for the Devils. Goaltender Andrew Hammond stopped 42 of 44 shots to pick up his first win as a Devil.
Keegan Kolesar and Chandler Stephenson scored for Vegas.
"I really liked our desperation," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "The blocked shots. The five guys around the paint. The saves we got from our goaltender. Guys were standing up on the bench and were excited every time he made a save or someone blocked a shot. They're a good team and we knew that at times they would have the edge, and I thought we answered the call."
New Jersey impressively defeated playoff contenders Dallas and Vegas, as well as Arizona during their 12-day road swing.
"It was a great road trip for us. We played well and finished it off strong," captain Nico Hischier said. "It's a good feeling."

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WHAT'S NEXT
The Devils return home for a three-game homestand starting Thursday night against Buffalo. The game can be seen on MSG+ and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
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Here are some observations from the game...
- Forward Andreas Johnsson has been a healthy scratch in two of the team's past three games heading into tonight's contest. When asked what he needed to do to get back in the lineup and stay, head coach Lindy Ruff said: "Score." Point taken.

Johnsson picked up his second goal in the past 25 games, and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Devils. Johnsson's 13th goal of the season came in the third period to break a 1-1 tie. After Knights goalie Robin Lehner couldn't catch a shot with his glove the puck bounced around the paint while Lehner scrambled. Johnsson was able to locate it and showed beautiful hands and patience in tight to coral and roof the shot from the side of the net.

- The fourth line picked up two goals or the Devils in the game. Not only did Johnsson come up with a tally, but forward Nathan Bastian opened the scoring with his 12th of the year. After Vegas failed to clear their own zone, Michael McLeod whipped a one-timer at the net. Lehner made the stop, but Bastian - uncontested - was able to find the rebound and tap it over the goal line.

"I think the fourth line led our team. They got us the big goal in Seattle. They got us a big goal again right off the bat. Then Johnsson gets his goal, which was another goal right around the paint. You need that. You need different people to help produce to win. A lot of times it won't be your best line. To have those guys chip in these last two games I know is rewarding for them and I feel good for them as a coach."

- Jesper Boqvist scored perhaps the best goal of his young career after deking through several Knights and snapping a shot into the goal to give New Jersey a 3-1 lead. In fact, the shot was so quick that Lehner never saw it. He never moved and his eyes followed Boqvist as if the puck was still on his stick.

"Ew," Hischier smirked of Boqvist's goal. "That was gross."

- Devils goaltender Andrew Hammond had his best game of the season. He was moving with confidence - dare I say, a bit of swagger - in his crease and easily gobbling up shots. You could see he was feeling himself on several of the saves. Hammond gave the Devils a quality game in goal that they needed to make it a game against Vegas.

"He played an awesome game. He made a lot of great saves," Ruff said. "He was there when we broke down. He was there on the early breakaways. He gave us a chance to settle into the game. Kudos to him."

"I felt like after the last game (against Colorado), although we didn't get the result, I felt I was getting some traction in my game," Hammond said, "and starting to get back to how I know I can play, and really trying to build off of that night and I feel I was able to."

- While Hammond's efforts are noteworthy, he did get some help from the Golden Knights themselves. The club had four breakaways, and one semi-shorthanded breakaway, and managed a single shot on all (hitting two posts and missing the net). On several great scoring chances Vegas missed the net completely. They finished the game with 23 miss shots. - Dougie Hamilton played one of his best games since suffering a broken jaw in early January. He was leading rushes and gaining the blue line, active in the offensive zone, generated a couple great scoring chances for himself on smart pinch plays and was overall very noticeable every time he touched the puck. - The Devils recorded 41 hits in the game, led by Damon Severson and Bastian (each with six). The previous high was 35 set on Jan. 22 vs. Carolina in a 7-4 win.

"I felt like after the last game (against Colorado), although we didn't get the result, I felt I was getting some traction in my game," Hammond said, "and starting to get back to how I know I can play, and really trying to build off of that night and I feel I was able to."