MACL0057

There were probably no Sunday Scaries for the Devils last night, because there were certainly no Monday Blues.
The Devils have tied a franchise record with their thirteenth consecutive victory, beating the Edmonton Oilers for the second time during the current streak.
Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer had two-point nights, as did Jesper Bratt with a goal and an assist, and the captain Nico Hischier had three assists. The Oilers put the pressure on the second period, but the Devils had Vitek Vanecek playing in his finest form to let his teammates find their rhythm.
Swapping Dawson Mercer and Fabian Zetterlund to start the second period paid off immediately, with Mercer scoring the 2-1 goal for New Jersey at the 5:15 mark. Damon Severson would pad the lead with the Devils third of the night.
It would become the Devils game-winner after the Oilers made it a one-goal game at 4:52 of the third period, off a goal by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. But Tomas Tatar served up the win on the Devils plate with a an absolute beauty for the 4-2 lead, batting the puck out of the air and into the net.
"That was silky, my jaw kind of dropped to be honest," captain Nico Hischier said of Tatar's goal.
Yegor Sharangovich padded it some more with the Devils fifth goal of the night, his third in as many games.
Contributions from all areas of the ice, the Devils are winning as a team.
"That's why we're winning. We're always doing it as a team, as a group. Every line is going," Hischier said after the game. "If you do that, you can keep the pace high during the game, you have more energy."
With a record of 13-0-0 the Devils have tied their franchise record set back between Feb. 26, 2001 to Mar. 23, 2001.
"I guess we're up there in the history books," Hischier said of the streak. "Nobody's going to take that from us now. It feels good. It proves that that we're a good team and that we can win hockey games. That we don't have to hide anymore."
Before Jack Hughes was even born.

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The Devils host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at Prudential Center.
- First shot on goal of the night? It was a goal. Jesper Bratt wiring the puck past Stuart Skinner on the power play. It was a beautifully executed play between the first power play unit. The goal was Bratt's second power play goal of the season, through just 18 games.

That number in and of itself is significant in how far the Devils power play has come. All of last season Bratt had just three power play goals and it may be safe to say that he'll beat his power play goal numbers this season, with a two-thirds of the season to go. - The Oilers game three weeks ago is when Vitek Vanecek began his remarkable, career-high run of victories, when he replaced an injured Mackenzie Blackwood. In Edmonton, he stood tall making big time saves. Tonight was no different, making 27 saves on 29 shots. Some held up as game-changers, keeping his team in the game in the second period, with the Oilers putting the Devils on their heels. Vanecek deserves all the accolades for his performance tonight and he stretches his personal win streak to eight games.

Vanecek was showered with chants of Vitek! Vitek!to which he said "Thanks guys, this is so awesome!" in his post-game on-ice interview. - In part what makes the Devils so dynamic is their patience to wait out their opponent to capitalize on their mistakes. The two goals in the second period were direct examples of taking advantage and finishing on an opponents mistakes. Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner was twice caught out of position, including once well beyond his right post, and with a calmness and zero panic, the Devils went in for their chance.

Dawson Mercer was the first to take advantage of a Skinner gaff, finishing off a puck into the empty net after Hischier took the original shot around Skinner. The goal came as Mercer was moved onto Hischier's wing with Tomas Tatar.

The goal was Mercer's first since Nov. 1st at Vancouver and his fifth goal of the season.

Head coach Lindy Ruff saying he wanted to to give Hischier a little more puck support on the wing, feeling that Zetterlund was having an off-night. - Damon Severson's first goal since opening night in Philadelphia was a result of some beautiful play-making between Bratt and Hughes, while Severson capitalized on Skinner losing his balance.

Hughes smoothly skated the puck into the zone and threaded a seam pass to Bratt between Jesse Puljujarvi and Cody Ceci. Skinner positioned himself preparing for a Bratt shot, but Jesper had other ideas, finding Severson late on the rush and in the high-slot. - Nico Hischier recorded the third three-assist game of his career. - Over the course of the win streak the Devils have out-scored their opponents 5-on-5 by a 38 to 13 margin. - The Devils are now 9-0-0 against Canadian teams this season, with another Canadian matchup on the horizon on Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. - New Jersey is now just three days short of an entire month without a loss. The Devils last loss came Oct. 24 against the Washingotn Capitals. - Lindy Ruff coached his 1650th NHL game to coach the fifth most games in NHL history.