National Hockey League
New Jersey 5, Ottawa 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, December 21, 2018
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Referees: Gord Dwyer, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 14614

Reigning NHL MVP Taylor Hall scored two goals and added two assists as the New Jersey Devils routed the visiting Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Friday night.

New Jersey's Kyle Palmieri also scored once and had two assists, giving him a team-best 18 goals. Pavel Zacha and Nico Hischier scored New Jersey's other goals.

Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid earned the win, stopping 25 of 27 shots.

New Jersey snapped a three-game losing streak. The Devils, who started the season 4-0-0, have not won consecutive games since Nov. 15 and are still in last place in the 16-team Eastern Conference.

Ottawa, which got two goals from Matt Duchene, continues to struggle on the road, falling to 4-12-1 away from home.

Senators goalie Craig Anderson was able to make just 20 saves out of 25 shots and was lifted in the third period in favor of Mike McKenna.

New Jersey dominated the first period with its physicality, registering 12 of the 13 hits and putting up 11 of the 18 shots.

Devils left winger Miles Wood was penalized just 59 seconds into the game for interference on Anderson. But the Devils turned their predicament into a breakaway, a short-handed goal by Zacha just 2:03 into the first period.

Less than nine minutes later, Palmieri gave New Jersey a 2-0 lead by burying a pass from Hall.

Ottawa seemed to change the momentum at the start of the second period, and it was another Wood penalty that did the trick, this time for high-sticking Ben Harpur. The Senators needed just 28 seconds to convert on their second power play of the night, getting a goal by Duchene on a slick pass from Mark Stone.

But Hall turned the game around for good, scoring twice in a span of 72 seconds, including once on a power play.

Hischier's rebound goal with just 62 seconds left in the second period gave New Jersey a 5-2 lead, and the Devils coasted from there.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Ottawa   New Jersey
Matt Duchene 2 Points Taylor Hall 4
Matt Duchene 2 Goals Taylor Hall 2
Thomas Chabot 1 Assists Taylor Hall 2
Matt Duchene 1 Power Play Goals Taylor Hall 1
N/A Short Handed Goals Pavel Zacha 1
Mike McKenna 1.000 Save Percentage Keith Kinkaid .926
Craig Anderson 20 Saves Keith Kinkaid 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Ottawa 27 2 1-5 2-3 18 36
New Jersey 32 5 1-3 4-5 22 33
Upcoming Games
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Devils have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .318 after a loss.
  • Ottawa will play their next game at home against Washington. The Senators have a W/L % of .312 after a win and .500 after a loss.