Devils score 6, defeat Blackhawks to keep pace in Metropolitan

CHICAGO -- Timo Meier, Dougie Hamilton, Erik Haula and Jesper Boqvist each had a goal and an assist, and the New Jersey Devils kept pace in the Metropolitan Division with a 6-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday at United Center.

Jack Hughes had two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 14 saves for the Devils (48-20-8), who have won three of four.
"I thought we didn't really do a good job, to be honest, the first 20 minutes," Meier said. "We were making mistakes and turning pucks over. Sometimes you have those games and you've got to realize you just keep it simple.
"The good thing was we found a way to win this. We turned it on and found a way to get two points. That's the positive. Overall, I think it wasn't our best game."
New Jersey remained one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Metropolitan. Carolina defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 on Saturday.
"You don't want to overthink it," Meier said. "You want to go out there and play your best game every night, but you've also got to realize you're fighting for home-ice advantage. It's big in the playoffs. Yeah, that's the thing for us, working our game and making sure we put ourselves in a good position standings-wise, but don't overthink the whole situation."

Andreas Athanasiou had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks (24-46-6), who have lost eight straight. Alex Stalock made 34 saves.
Jonathan Toews, Chicago's captain, had an assist in his first game since Jan. 28. He had previously announced on Feb. 21 that he was stepping away to deal with the effects of long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, which caused him to miss the entire 2020-21 season.
"Definitely finding my way a little bit," Toews said. "I think the first period was rough. That's a fast team, fast game. No matter what, when you miss some time, there's going to be some catching up. But I think second, third period I started to feel a little bit more comfortable.
"Sometimes when your timing gets better, then you're not overexerting yourself, as well. So yeah, I think overall, definitely feel like I'm in a good place, progressing, since the time off. It's just working, trying to get better every game for the rest of the year here."
Hamilton gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 6:19 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season. He scored with a one-timer from the high slot off a pass from Ondrej Palat.
"He plays in every situation," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said of Hamilton. "He's been great on the power play. He really does have one of the best quick-release shots of any defenseman. He's kind of got the green light to get involved. When he gets involved and he gets a hole, he's been able to beat a lot of goaltenders with his shot."
Tyler Johnson tied it 1-1 at 7:45, scoring from in front after receiving a pass from behind the net from Taylor Raddysh.
Lukas Reichel put the Blackhawks ahead 2-1 at 13:58 when he tipped in a wrist shot by Athanasiou.
Haula responded to tie it 2-2 at 15:31. After Meier circled behind the net, his pass to the front hit off the stick of Stalock and deflected to Haula, who tapped it in.
Boqvist then put New Jersey ahead 3-2 at 18:28, picking up the puck in the right face-off circle and scoring after skating past Raddysh.

Ryan Graves made it 4-2 at 5:17 of the third period when he lifted in a backhand over Stalock.
Athanasiou cut it to 4-3 at 9:03, tipping in a pass from Toews.
"It was good to have him back," Chicago coach Luke Richardson said of Toews. "I thought he was a big presence on the bench, very vocal and made a nice play. I thought he gave us some energy when we switched lines up a little bit in the third. I would've liked to get them out a few more offensive zone face-offs, it just didn't work out."
Meier pushed it to 5-3 at 16:04 on a wraparound before Dawson Mercer scored into an empty net at 17:58 for the 6-3 final.
"I think we knew they were a fast team coming in," Athanasiou said. "Obviously, they are a top team in this League, so everyone knows who we're playing. We have to be ready for it. Obviously, we gave them just a little too much tonight."
NOTE: Hamilton has 71 points (20 goals, 51 assists) this season. He is the second defenseman in Devils history to record at least 70 points in a season, joining Scott Stevens, who had 78 points (18 goals, 60 assists) in 1993-94.