Devils hold off Oilers for 13th straight win

NEWARK, N.J. --The New Jersey Devils won their 13th straight game, 5-2 against the Edmonton Oilers at Prudential Center on Monday.

Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer each had a goal and an assist, Nico Hischier had three assists and Jack Hughes had two assists for the Devils (16-3-0), who matched the longest winning streak in their history (13 from Feb. 26-March 23, 2001). Vitek Vanecek made 28 saves to win his ninth consecutive decision.
"I guess we're up there with the history book," Hischier, who is New Jersey's captain, said. "Nobody is going to take that from us now, and it feels good. It proves that we're a good team, that we can win hockey games, that we don't have to hide anymore."
The Devils can break their record when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. The Pittsburgh Penguins hold the NHL record for the longest winning streak (17, March 9-April 10, 1993).
"Winning is awesome," Bratt said. "Everything around the rink ... being with the guys and playing these important games, that means a lot and winning is the best thing possible in hockey, but obviously we still know that we have a lot of work to do because it's still early in the season. We've got a long way to go."

Stuart Skinner made 23 saves in his fourth straight start for the Oilers (10-9-0), who are 3-6-0 in their past nine games.
"There were individual errors in our game tonight, and you can't do that and expect to outscore mistakes," Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We clawed back. There was game and fight in our team, and we made it 3-2 at the beginning of the third period with a chance to tie it. [Vanecek] made a really good save and, in the end, self-inflicted, individual mistakes cost us."
Bratt gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 2:25 of the first period on a one-timer from the slot.
"A lot of teams are looking at us as a very offensive, skilled team, but I think the thing that has helped us win games has been our depth, that we have four lines, three defense pairs that make a big impact and our goaltending," Bratt said.
Leon Draisaitl tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 13:02 on a quick shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle.
Mercer gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead at 5:15 of the second period on a turnover, and Severson extended it to 3-1 with a wrist shot from the high slot at 8:45.
"We don't get scared, we don't get back on our heels [when the game is close]," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins cut it to 3-2 on a rebound at the left post at 4:52 of the third period.
Tomas Tatar scored on his own rebound at 7:07 to give the Devils a 4-2 lead, and Yegor Sharangovich beat Skinner with a wrist shot from the right circle at 14:45 for the 5-2 final.
"I feel like we haven't proven anything yet," Ruff said. "I think we've done a lot of good things. We've played good hockey, but we've got a long ways to go. We know that we're kind of the hunted now, that we're going to expect probably the best every team can bring because we're getting recognition. "We just have to continue to play hard hockey, continue to play the type of game we're playing."
NOTES: The Devils are 14-0-0 this season when Hischier has at least one point. ... Hughes moved into fourth on the franchise's all-time list with 34 multipoint games by a player 21 or younger. He trails Kirk Muller (63), Brendan Shanahan (41) and Wilf Paiement (39). ... New Jersey is 9-0-0 against Canadian teams this season. ... When asked about the play of Vanecek, Ruff credited 9-year-old Richard 'RJ' Ferguson (Middletown, New Jersey), a cancer patient who was honored by the Devils on their annual Hockey Fights Cancer night. "RJ came into our locker room and read the starting goalie prior to the game so good choice by him," Ruff said. "He called out Vitek and Vitek answered the call." … Nugent-Hopkins, who led all skaters with seven shots on goal, has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past two games.