Devils put a fork in their fifth win over Red Wings

The New Jersey Devils celebrate Nico Hischier's second goal of the game during the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Prudential Center on December 27, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

A late surge from Detroit wasn’t enough to help them achieve victory on the road Wednesday night. The Red Wings put together a strong stance in the third period but the New Jersey Devils defense and goaltending from Cory Schneider helped them gain a 3-1 win at Prudential Center giving them a fifth consecutive win.

With the Red Wings back in business after Christmas, they hoped to bring an end to their losing streak with just three games to go in 2017. The challenge remained for them going into New Jersey to face the surging Devils who looked to win their fifth win. Schneider would make his seventh consecutive start for New Jersey carrying a 5-0-1 record in his last six decisions. He hasn’t lost in regulation since Dec. 8. Jimmy Howard was once again in net hoping to overcome his tough afternoon in Boston last Saturday. With Detroit able to score more in recent games, they would have to break quickly and get a grip on the score.

Through the first eight minutes, the Devils controlled the game but had yet to change the score themselves. Detroit’s defense along with Howard doing work in net helped them stay dead even. They also struggled getting a shot on Schneider having trouble getting the puck out of their own zone. It took them 13 minutes to record a shot but the force was coming strong from the Devils who continued firing point shots hoping that one would go in.

At 15:16, it came for them on the stick of number one draft pick Nico Hischier who was at the far end scoring his sixth through Howard for the 1-0 lead. He got a penalty to him giving Detroit a chance to level the score before the period came to a close. The Devils killed it with good work on the penalty kill that left Detroit with very little time left to do anything. They gave up a bad turnover losing the puck in the back end where the speed of New Jersey came into play. It was Hischer once again scoring from the far end for his second of the night. It was not the way Detroit wanted to end the period being down in a hole after the first period.

The second saw the Red Wings improving their offense but still trailing the Devils in the opening minutes. Howard had some big gloves saves in net that helped prevent the score from getting away from Detroit. Tyler Bertuzzi continued to contribute quite a bit to getting his team into a spot to create a scoring chance. He found a chance to set up teammate Justin Abdelkader with a shot that he patiently waited to fire off and get the top corner on Schnieder’s left. It was the veteran’s sixth of the season and Bertuzzi’s first assist of the season.

The Red Wings tried to create some pressure during another power play, but the Devils put physical strength to stop the puck in its tracks, killing time off the man advantage. The New Jersey PK showed consistency as they rallied to another penalty kill in the late stages avoiding a tie from happening. They got through the final 1:12 holding back the Red Wings to keep their one goal lead after 40 minutes.

With the margin short, Detroit clearly had chances to dictate the game and conduct strong offense. It came together over several minutes as the Red Wings created shots on the puck to pressure Schneider in net. He saw two more power plays in the third period, not allowing them produce the results Detroit wanted. They gained confidence in their attempts and took the lead on overall shots to the net.

New Jersey got a break after 12 minutes to get a power play of their own but faced a Detroit penalty that had them beat. Opportunities were becoming less as five minutes remained in the game with the Devils still holding the goal over Detroit’s head. Another power play in their favor gave them more time on the puck and less for the Red Wings. When 1:20 was left in regulation, Coach Jeff Blashill pulled Howard or the sixth man but the Devils defense was too strong putting the game out of reach with an empty netter being credited to Sami Vatanen for his second. The last 23 seconds were just a formality as New Jersey clinched their fifth straight at home handing Detroit their third defeat.

Schneider had another solid night between the pipes with 31 saves and a .969 save percentage to gain his 17^th win this season. Howard continued to wear the losses despite stopping 29 of 31 and a .935 save percentage. He and Detroit would move forward to Friday when they host the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena.