Nico Daws made 29 saves in his season debut to help the New Jersey Devils extend their winning streak to six games in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Minnesota Wild in Newark.
Paul Cotter scored for the first time this season, and Jesper Bratt got his fourth goal. Brenden Dillon posted his second, and rookie Arseny Gritsyuk celebrated his first career goal as the Devils have their longest winning streak since their 13-game run in 2022-23. Dawson Mercer assisted twice, giving him points in five of his last six contests.
Matt Boldy notched his fifth goal of the season for the Wild, who concluded their five-game road trip with their fourth loss (1-3-1) in that span.
Filip Gustavsson made 32 saves for the Wild.
Despite playing the second of back-to-back games and having to travel overnight from Toronto, while Minnesota did not have to fly after beating the New York Rangers on Monday, it was the Devils who were the aggressors at the beginning. They outshot Minnesota 14-8 in the first period, and took the lead with 3:39 remaining thanks to Cotter, who slid a wrist shot past Gustavsson in the low slot.
Dillon got his second in as many days with 13:52 left in the second period. The defenseman rifled the puck from the blueline, and it found its way to the net through traffic.
The Devils went 1 for 2 on the power play, with Gritsyuk scoring four seconds after Minnesota’s David Jiricek was sent off for slashing with 15:11 left in the third. Gritsyuk found the puck off the faceoff in the high slot with a clear lane to the net.
Boldy beat Daws with 9:23 left, but Bratt iced the game with an empty-netter with 1:17 left. He’s scored at least one point in all seven New Jersey games this season.
Wednesday’s game was a battle between the Wild’s NHL-best power play (34.5 percent) and the Devils’ penalty-killing unit ranked third (95.5 percent). Minnesota failed to score on three chances with the advantage, extending their futility streak to 11 straight, while New Jersey has not been beaten in their last 21 penalty kills.
–Field Level Media
