Jack Hughes Carries the Devils Past Edmonton
New Jersey hit iron twice and still had to sweat out a 4-3 finish as the Oilers cashed in on the power play.
New Jersey had the puck, the shots and the better looks for most of the night, and still needed every one of its four goals to edge Edmonton 4-3.
The Devils fired 71 shot attempts to the Oilers' 44, and 34 shots on goal to 22. The chances matched the volume: New Jersey's were worth about 3.0 expected goals (how many goals its looks would normally produce) against 1.9 for Edmonton. Two more nearly counted, as Arseny Gritsyuk and Timo Meier each rang one off the iron.
Jack Hughes led the way with two goals and an assist on five shots, playing with Jesper Bratt and Gritsyuk. His own chances backed up the scoring. Connor Brown added a goal and an assist.
Edmonton stayed close through special teams, scoring two power-play goals on four chances, with Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl scoring. Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves on 22 shots and let in a bit more than the chances deserved. The Devils won with a skater advantage in play, not because of their goaltending. At 9-5-0, they sit second in the Metropolitan.
