Nico Hischier collected one goal and one assist to lead the visiting New Jersey Devils to a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Nathan Bastian and Tomas Tatar also scored for the Devils, who are on a 6-1-1 run that has them two points back of the Carolina Hurricanes in the chase for top spot in the Metropolitan Division.
Dawson Mercer collected one assist to run his point streak to 12 games, a span in which he has collected 11 goals and 20 points. It is the longest point streak in franchise history for a player under the age of 22.
Goaltender Akira Schmid made 23 saves, his biggest coming when Anthony Richard had a breakaway opportunity late in the first period and Johnathan Kovacevic had a third-period redirect while it was a one-goal game.
The Hurricanes and Devils meet Sunday in Newark, N.J. Carolina has one game in hand.
Denis Gurianov scored for the injury-plagued Canadiens, who are winless in six games, five of them by one goal, and near the bottom of the league standings. Goalie Jake Allen stopped 34 shots in a strong outing that gave his club a chance.
Bastian’s sixth goal of the season opened the scoring at the 8:24 mark of the first. After he and Miles Wood created a turnover with their forecheck, Bastien converted a wraparound.
Hischier doubled the lead with 61 seconds remaining in the opening frame. Hischier was parked at the doorstep and Damon Severson’s shot redirected off his skate and into the net for his 29th goal of the season.
Gurianov put the hosts on the board with 97 seconds remaining in the second period. Rem Pitlick created a turnover and fed a pass that Gurianov one-timed into the top corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season and second since being traded to Montreal.
However, seconds after Montreal’s Jonathan Drouin rang a shot off the post and could have tied the game, Tatar notched an empty-net goal with 90 seconds remaining in regulation, his 15th of the season, to round out the scoring.
The game was played without a single penalty called.
–Field Level Media
