Here are some observations from the game:
• Hamilton scored his first goal when he crashed the net looking for a loose puck during some chaos. Bodies were strewn about, including that of goalie Yaroslav Askarov, who was face down on the ice. Hamilton was able to locate the puck at the left circle and lifted it through bodies and into the vacant upper portion of the net.
Hamilton’s second goal came on a great snap shot – off one knee – from between the circles that eluded Askarov blocker side.
"First one I just creeped in and got a loose puck," Hamilton said. "The second you read off guys. Jack is unreal. I just tried to get open for him and I saw some space."
• The Devils caught a break early in the second period. After New Jersey scored to tie the game at 1-1, it appeared that the Sharks responded by reclaiming the lead a mere 77 seconds later.
Alexander Wennberg took a pass for a breakaway. His shot was stopped by goalie Jake Allen but the rebound laid in the crease. Jeff Skinner came in for the secondary chance and tucked the puck into the net.
However, the Devils challenged for offside. Upon review, the play was indeed offside as Wennberg had entered the zone ahead of the puck as he was receiving the pass. So the score went back to a 1-1 tie.
"It's tough because you're trying to find the right angle to be certain that puck wasn't on his stick," Keefe said. "We got one frame lucky on that one. We'll certainly take it and great job by (the video coaches)."
• One minor quirk of the negated goal was that Simon Nemec was called for tripping on the play. And even though the goal was wiped out and the clock reset, the penalty stood and the Devils still had to kill a penalty - even though it technically took place not during actual official play.
"You can understand if you think about it that you can't exactly wipe out infractions because who knows what could happen," Keefe said. "That's just the way it goes. Now we know that rule. I hope it doesn't happen again."
• The Devils struggled in the opening period of the game. They surrendered the opening goal at 2:25 of the first. New Jersey looked off and sloppy. But the club responded with a dominant second period.
"It was definitely a tough first period. For myself, I was pretty bad," Hamilton said. "It was an ugly first period, but a good goalie and power play wins us the game."
• We saw some feistiness from Timo Meier. He was getting into the grill of Sam Dickinson at the net and delivered a few big hits to Macklin Celebrini.
• The Devils scored two power-play goals against the Sharks. The club has scored a man-advantage goal in six straight games (eight total).
• The Devils held the Sharks to zero shots on goal during the second period. It was the first time they’ve blanked a team in shots since Jan. 6, 2017 vs. Toronto. The Devils held the Sharks off the shot clock for a span of 27:41 minutes.
"We did play a lot on the power play in the second period, but we didn't give them much," captain Nico Hischier siad. "We knew if we played our game and stayed above, they're not going to get much. We did exactly what we wanted to do in the second and that was the result."
• Nico Hischier won 16 of 24 (67%) faceoffs during the game.
