The New Jersey Devils are fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 27-21-4.
The New Jersey Devils are fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 27-21-4.
Entering Tuesday's game, the cards were stacked against the New Jersey Devils. It was the second half of a back-to-back in Nashville, Tennessee—a city where they have not won a game in regulation since Jan. 2009.
After 60 minutes, head coach Lindy Ruff saw his team celebrate a 4-2 win at Bridgestone Arena. It was the third straight game that New Jersey held their opponent to two goals or less.
The Devils found themselves in a familiar situation to start as they surrendered the game's opening goal a little over four minutes after puck drop.
Tomas Nosek was called for high-sticking against Cody Glass. The Predators had sustained pressure in New Jersey's zone, and with 22 seconds left on the man advantage, Ryan O'Reilly scored his 19th of the season. Glass and Roman Josi earned the helpers.
New Jersey dominated the first 20 minutes at 5-on-5 with a 22-12 shot advantage. The club lost the special teams battle, going 0-1 on the power play and 0-1 on the penalty kill.
The Devils trailed 1-0 after the first period. Entering Tuesday's game, the Predators had a record of 10-3-2 when scoring first and 12-1-1 when leading after 20 minutes.
A little over a minute into the middle frame, Jack Hughes scored his 17th goal of the season on his team's first shot of the period. With the teams playing 4-on-4, Hughes skated end-to-end and scored from the right circle.
Luke Hughes and John Marino were credited with the assists.
Tommy Novak gave the Predators a 2-1 lead seven minutes into the period. Glass and Josi collected their second assists of the night.
The Devils entered the second intermission down by one. New Jersey had a 3-16-0 record when trailing after two periods.
Early in the second period, Nico Hischier's 15th of the season tied the game. Jesper Bratt and Ondrej Palat earned the primary and secondary assists. Bratt has a point in his last eight games against the Predators dating back to Dec. 2018.
With a little over five minutes remaining, Timo Meier scored his first goal since Dec. 27 to give his team their first lead of the night. Curtis Lazar, who was playing in his 500th career game, earned an assist along with Dawson Mercer.
Hischier's second of the night secured the game as he shot the puck into the empty net for a 4-2 victory. New Jersey earned their first regulation win in Nashville in 15 years.
Nico Daws made 30 saves on 32 shots for his second straight victory.
UP NEXT: The Devils will host the LA Kings on Thursday, Feb. 15.
LINES:
Ondrej Palat - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Jack Hughes - Erik Haula - Tyler Toffoli
Timo Meier - Curtis Lazar - Dawson Mercer
Alexander Holtz - Tomas Nosek - Nathan Bastian
Kevin Bahl - Simon Nemec
Luke Hughes - John Marino
Brendan Smith - Colin Miler
Nico Daws
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