Devils score five goals in first period, defeat Senators

NEWARK, N.J.-- Linemates Travis Zajac, Joseph Blandisi and Kyle Palmieri combined for four goals and 10 points in the first period to help the New Jersey Devils to a 6-3 victory against the Ottawa Senators at Prudential Center on Thursday.
Blandisi, playing in his ninth NHL game, scored his first goal and had two assists.

"It's a dream come true," he said of scoring his first NHL goal. "It's been a long time coming, but I've worked pretty hard and I've been generating a lot of chances so I just tried to stick with it the best I could and finally the work paid off."
Zajac had a goal and three assists, Palmieri scored twice and had an assist, forward Lee Stempniak also scored and defenseman David Schlemko had two assists as the Devils (24-19-5) built a 5-0 lead by scoring on half of their 10 shots in the first period.
"I think we've been clicking the last couple of games," Blandisi said of his line. "We're always down low in their zone creating chances, but just really haven't found a way to put it in but we stuck with it and stayed positive. There was no negative talk. Pucks were going in for us [Thursday]. I think we worked pretty well down low."
Blandisi became the seventh rookie in Devils history to score three points in a period; he's the first since Brendan Morrison (one goal, two assists) at the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 28, 1998, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"We're at our best when we're down low in the offensive zone," Blandisi said, "and we kept the puck down there as much as we could."
Zajac, who scored for the first time in 28 games, had four points in a game for the third time in his career. Palmieri became the first Devils player to reach 20 goals this season.
"Scoring is nice but more importantly, we got the win," Zajac said. "Coming out of the last road trip, where we gutted out two wins, I think that helped us coming into this week. We played with a lot of energy; it was a good couple games at home for us."
Adam Henrique hit the empty net with 17 seconds left for the Devils (24-19-5), who won their third in a row.
"As a line our confidence is growing," Palmieri said. "Me and [Zajac] have been playing together for a while and Blandisi has come in and provided a spark for us. He adds a little bit of speed to our line. Hopefully we can continue with nights like this."
Mika Zibanejad scored in the second period, and Mike Hoffman and Cody Ceci had goals late in the third for the Senators (22-19-6), who lost all three games against the Devils this season.
"It was a terrible first period; it's unacceptable," Zibanejad said. "We can't lay down and die like we did in the first."
It was the first five-goal period for the Devils since scoring that many in the third period of a 6-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Prudential Center on Jan. 9, 2011. The Devils had scored five goals in a game once this season; a 5-1 win at the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 3, 2015.
Goaltender Cory Schneider, who has won four of his past five starts, made 29 saves. He was called upon to make several big saves in the second and third periods; his best came when he stopped Jean-Gabriel Pageau on a breakaway midway through the third.
"I think we have enough skill players and when guys play the right way, we can score goals consistently," Schneider said. "We're not going to score five every night, but if we get two or three every single night I think we feel we have a good chance to win. [Thursday] was a bonus and it got some guys back on track."
The Devils not only scored on 50 percent of their shots in the first, but went 2-for-2 on the power play and forced Ottawa coach Dave Cameron to replace starting goaltender Craig Anderson with Andrew Hammond after Zajac tipped a shot into the net at 13:56 for their fourth goal on seven shots.
"Zajac puts the work in every single day at practice and at the rink," Schneider said. "I know the offense hasn't quite been there for him recently, but every other aspect, in faceoffs, penalty-killing and against the top lines for the other team, he's always there. We all know he has it in him."
Blandisi opened the scoring at 6:53, capitalizing on a holding penalty to Ottawa defenseman Chris Wideman. Palmieri scored at 7:57 and got New Jersey's second power-play goal at 11:23 before Zajac ended Anderson's night 2:33 later.
"Everyone dreams of that first NHL goal," Palmieri said. "I know for my first one I didn't have to wait that long but even before you make it to the NHL scoring that first goal is something you dream of. It's a great night for [Blandisi]."
Stempniak capped New Jersey's big period with an unassisted goal against Hammond at 17:24.
"Today felt like a veteran team beat a junior team," Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson said. "They showed what a NHL team is."
Zibanejad scored his 10th of the season at 7:30 of the second period. Hoffman had a power-play goal at 16:05 of the third and Ceci scored at 17:14 to pull Ottawa within 5-3.
The Devils begin a two-game road trip at the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. The Senators, who finished 2-3-0 on a season-high five-game road trip, open a three-game homestand against the New York Islanders on Friday.