Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac scored two goals apiece to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden, as part of the NHL Global Series.
Palmieri recorded his 15th career two-goal game by scoring the first two goals for New Jersey, which was the designated home team. Zajac notched his 14th career two-goal game by scoring twice from close range off passes from Miles Wood.
Keith Kinkaid made 17 saves in place of Cory Schneider, who is recovering from a rib injury. Stefan Noesen added an empty-net goal for New Jersey.
Milan Lucic had a power-play goal and an assist for the Oilers. Leon Draisaitl scored Edmonton's second goal and added an assist while Connor McDavid set up both goals.
It was the 23rd NHL regular-season game played in Europe, the 11th in Sweden and the first played in Gothenburg.
Palmieri made it 1-0 with a nice individual effort 58 seconds in. The puck caromed towards his stick near the half wall, and he skated in alone and from the right circle fired a shot over Cam Talbot's left shoulder.
Edmonton tied it thanks to some deft maneuvering on its first power play. McDavid gained possession in the neutral zone and flew by Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen, skated untouched behind the net and made a centering pass to Lucic, who finished the play from the slot.
Palmieri struck again seven seconds into New Jersey's first power play with a long drive from the left circle that sailed over Talbot (22 saves). The Devils made it 3-1 69 seconds later when Wood stripped the puck from Talbot behind the net and made a backhanded pass to Zajac.
The Devils took a 4-1 lead when Wood created a turnover by defenseman Matt Benning, and Zajac slipped a backhander from near the crease over Talbot's stick 5:27 into the third.
Draisaitl made it 4-2 by finishing off an odd-man rush, but Kinkaid made consecutive stops on Kailer Yamamoto and McDavid. The Oilers pulled Talbot with about two minutes left, and Noesen fired into the empty net to seal the win with 89 seconds to go.
--Field Level Media
Edmonton | New Jersey | |
Leon Draisaitl 2 | Points | Kyle Palmieri 2 |
Leon Draisaitl 1 | Goals | Kyle Palmieri 2 |
Connor McDavid 2 | Assists | Miles Wood 2 |
Milan Lucic 1 | Power Play Goals | Kyle Palmieri 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Cam Talbot .846 | Save Percentage | Keith Kinkaid .895 |
Cam Talbot 22 | Saves | Keith Kinkaid 17 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Edmonton | 19 | 2 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 4 | 32 |
New Jersey | 27 | 5 | 1-2 | 3-4 | 8 | 31 |