New Jersey 3, Chicago 2
When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, November 12, 2015
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Referees:
Mike Leggo, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen:
Mike Cvik, Bryan Pancich
Attendance:
21568
By The Sports Xchange
CHICAGO -- Last spring, the New Jersey Devils watched the playoffs unfold on television while the Chicago Blackhawks stormed to their third Stanley Cup championship in six seasons.
On Thursday night, New Jersey's early-season turnaround reached another milestone. The Devils completed a season sweep against the Blackhawks with a 3-2 win, marking their second victory against the defending champions in the past seven days.
New Jersey (9-6-1) earned its ninth win in the past 12 games.
"It's huge," said center Adam Henrique, who scored the Devils' first goal. "Our confidence has been building from the start. We know what's in here, and I think we're showing that."
Left winger Sergey Kalinin scored the tiebreaking goal on the power play with 2:27 remaining in the third period. Kalinin and right winger Kyle Palmieri each finished with a goal and an assist.
Blackhawks right winger Patrick Kane notched a goal and an assist. Left winger Artemi Panarin added a goal for Chicago (8-7-1), which lost in regulation on home ice for only the second time in 10 games.
"I can't fault the game tonight," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought we did a lot of good things. We generated zone time, shots, traffic, everything we look for."
Devils goaltender Cory Schneider appeared ready for all of it. He stopped 27 of 29 shots, extending his streak to six consecutive games of limiting opponents to two goals or fewer.
Schneider made his best stop early in the third period. Kane blasted a one-timer from the left of the crease, but Schneider reacted fast and extended his right-leg pad to make the save. Schneider also stopped rookie left winger Marko Dano late in the first period by using his stick to deflect a shot off the crossbar.
"We needed Cory to be one of the best players on the ice tonight, and he was," New Jersey coach John Hynes said.
Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford turned aside 19 of 22 shots.
Kalinin scored on a rebound that put New Jersey ahead with 2:27 remaining in the third period. Crawford stopped a shot from the left circle by defenseman David Schlemko, but Kalinin stood alone in front of the crease to punch in his second goal of the season.
"You see his game continue to progress and mature," Hynes said of Kalinin. "He's working his way into becoming a real important player and a guy that we count on in multiple situations."
The Blackhawks trailed for most of the third period before Panarin evened the score at 2. The Russian rookie lifted a wrist shot from the left circle for his fifth goal with 6:41 to go in regulation.
Chicago opened the scoring during a 5-on-3 power play with 13:18 remaining in the first period. Center Jonathan Toews slipped a pass across the crease to Kane, who fired a one-timer past Schneider for his 11th goal. Kane increased his point streak to 11 games, which marks the longest streak in the NHL this season.
Fifty-nine seconds into the second period, New Jersey evened the score at 1. Henrique carried the puck into the offensive zone and surprised Crawford with a rising wrist shot for his team-leading eighth goal.
Palmieri gave the Devils a 2-1 lead when he punched in a rebound with 2:59 to go in the second period.
New Jersey improved to 5-2-0 on the road and earned its first win in Chicago since Nov. 3, 2010.
"What we're really happy with, even more than the record, is the way that the team has come together," Hynes said. "Guys are playing for one another. There's a lot of belief in how we're playing."
Meanwhile, Chicago lost for the fourth time in the past seven games.
"We have to come together as a team here," right winger Andrew Shaw said. "I think we played a good game tonight. A couple of bounces didn't go our way.
"Letting them score late in the game like that, it's not acceptable. We're going to learn from this game and move forward."
NOTES: Chicago RW Brandon Mashinter made his season debut a day after he was recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League. Mashinter, 27, appeared in 23 games in parts of three seasons with the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks. ... New Jersey LW Stefan Matteau returned to the lineup after sitting out the past seven games as a healthy scratch. ... Chicago LW Ryan Garbutt, RW Viktor Tikhonov and D David Rundblad were healthy scratches. ... New Jersey RW Jiri Tlusty and D Eric Gelinas were healthy scratches. ... Chicago D Duncan Keith missed his 10th consecutive game because of a knee injury. Keith is eligible to return from long-term injured reserve Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.
Top Game Performances
New Jersey |
|
Chicago |
Sergey Kalinin 2 |
Points |
Patrick Kane 2 |
Sergey Kalinin 1 |
Goals |
Patrick Kane 1 |
Sergey Kalinin 1 |
Assists |
Patrick Kane 1 |
Sergey Kalinin 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Patrick Kane 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Cory Schneider .931 |
Save Percentage |
Corey Crawford .864 |
Cory Schneider 27 |
Saves |
Corey Crawford 19 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
New Jersey
|
22 |
3 |
1-3 |
4-5 |
10 |
26 |
Chicago
|
29 |
2 |
1-5 |
2-3 |
6 |
20 |
Upcoming Games
-
Chicago will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .571 after a loss.
-
New Jersey will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Devils have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .571 after a loss.