The Devils are in the fifth wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The New Jersey Devils won their second straight game on Thursday night, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 4-1. Goaltender Jake Allen made his third consecutive start and made 18 saves on 19 shots to backstop his team to victory. He received goal support from his teammates and a solid defensive effort as his team blocked 19 shots in front of him.
There were not many scoring opportunities in the first 20 minutes of play. Nico Hischier had the first shot of the game a little over five minutes after the puck dropped. Opposing goaltender Laurent Brossoit made the save on the captain's wrist shot.
The Devils were credited with blocking nine shots in front of Allen, with defenseman Nick DeSimone leading the way with three.
After 20 minutes, the teams were deadlocked at zero, with New Jersey holding a 6-5 shot advantage.
Exactly nine minutes into the middle frame Jack Hughes scored on the power play. It was his first goal since March 5 against the Florida Panthers. Hischier and Luke Hughes collected the assists. It snapped Brossoit's shutout streak at 179:40.
In the final minutes of the period, the Jets hemmed the Devils in their zone. New Jersey's fourth line and defensive pair of Brendan Smith and Kevin Bahl were caught defending for over a minute. The Jets took advantage of their tired opponents, and Nikolaj Ehlers scored his 21st goal of the season. Mark Scheifele and Dylan DeMelo were credited with the assists.
After 40 minutes, the game was tied 1-1. New Jersey fired 23 shots at Brossoit in the middle frame. Jack Hughes was credited with eight shots on goal after two periods.
Hischier gave his team a 2-1 lead 5:59 into the third period. It was New Jersey's second power-play goal of the night. Timo Meier earned the primary assist, while Luke Hughes earned the secondary. It was the rookie defenseman's second point of the night.
Jack Hughes scored his second of the night on the man advantage with 8:08 minutes remaining in regulation. It was New Jersey's third power-play goal of the night. Timo Meier collected his second assist of the night. Luke Hughes, who quarterbacks the first power play unit, collected his third helper of the night.
Meier scored into the empty net with 48 seconds remaining to secure the Devils' 4-1 victory. It was his third point of the night.
UP NEXT: The Devils will host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, March 23.
LINES:
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Jack Hughes - Erik Haula - Alexander Holtz
Ondrej Palat - Tomas Nosek - Dawson Mercer
Kurtis MacDermid - Chris Tierney - Curtis Lazar
Luke Hughes - Nick DeSimone
Kevin Bahl - Brendan Smith
Santeri Hatakka - Simon Nemec
Jake Allen
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