The Devils are in the fifth wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The New Jersey Devils jumped back into the win column on Sunday evening, earning a 4-0 victory over the New York Islanders. Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen made 37 saves on 37 shots for his first shutout of the 2023-24 season.

The opening period was filled with penalties as the Devils took two, and the Islanders were called for three. Kahkonen made 13 saves on 13 shots while opposing netminder Ilya Sorokin made six saves on six shots. New York blocked 11 New Jersey shots.

After 20 minutes, the teams were deadlocked at zero.

The Devils scored the game's opening goal on a power play. Timo Meier scored his 23rd of the season, and Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes were credited with the assists. The younger Hughes brother extended his point streak against the Islanders to three games, earning a point in every career game against Sunday's opponent.

Jack Hughes, who played his 300th career NHL game, scored a little over two minutes later at even strength. It was his 24th goal of the season.

Meier earned the primary helper and his second point of the afternoon, and Jesper Bratt collected his 69th point of the season as he was credited with the secondary assist.

Alexander Holtz extended New Jersey's lead. Rookie defenseman Simon Nemec fed the puck to the young Swede, whose wrist shot beat Sorokin. Sunday's game marked Holtz's 100th career NHL game.

After eight minutes, New Jersey had a 13-2 shot advantage over New York and a 3-0 lead.

At 16:48, Islanders' captain Anders Lee was handed a five-minute major for kneeing Nico Hischier. Meier immediately dropped the gloves and went after Lee.

Once separated, the following penalties were handed out: Lee received a major for kneeing, a five-minute penalty for fighting, and a game misconduct. Meier was assessed five minutes for fighting, two minutes for instigating, and a 10-minute misconduct. With his fight, Meier earned a second period Gordie Howe hat trick. 

Hischier went down the tunnel after the hit and did not finish the second period.

After 40 minutes, the Devils held a 3-0 lead on the scoreboard. Shots were even at 23, with the Islanders blocking 18 Devils shots.

The Devils captain skated out with his team to start the final frame and took the period's opening faceoff against Cal Clutterbuck.

Chris Tierney hit the empty net with four minutes remaining in regulation. Erik Haula and Kevin Bahl collected the helpers. The 6-foot-6 defenseman has assists in back-to-back games against the Islanders.

Kahkonen earned his first shutout since November 2022. It also marked the first time this season that a Devils goaltender got a shutout. 

UP NEXT: The Devils will face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, March 26.

LINES:

Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt

Jack Hughes - Erik Haula - Alexander Holtz

Ondrej Palat - Tomas Nosek - Dawson Mercer

Max Willman - Chris Tierney

Kevin Bahl - John Marino

Luke Hughes - Nick Desimone

Brendan Smith - Simon Nemec

Santeri Hatakka

Kaapo Kahkonen

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