New Jersey Devils: First Three Game Winning Streak Of Season

The New Jersey Devils are hot right now. They went into 2020 with some momentum and have kept it going with a big road win.

The New Jersey Devils ended 2019 on a 3-0-1 tear. That one loss was because of an own goal that was a devastating end to an otherwise well-played game against a good team. They knew that 2020 would be daunting because of how tough their schedule is to start the calendar year, but they got off to a good start. The New York Islanders are one of the elite teams in the National Hockey League, so the Devils would obviously need their best effort in order to get a win.

They weren’t necessarily giving it early in the game. They looked okay when they had the puck but they also looked lost when they didn’t have it. Mackenzie Blackwood was on his game once again which kept New Jersey in the game. The Islanders did get out to a 1-0 lead in the second period but the Devils answered back right before the period ended with a blast from P.K. Subban. Don’t give up on Subban just yet, he has looked much better since the team has fired the old coach.

Then the Devils got exactly what they wanted with the team on national television. Nico Hischier made an elite play to score a goal on a power move in the third period. He put the team on his back in more ways than one. He scored the big goal on a sweet play and had a relentless pursuit of the puck when they had the 2-1 lead late. That also includes a big block when the Islanders had the puck in the zone with the extra attacker on. Hischier seemingly gets better every night and it showed in this one.

The Devils were without Jack Hughes in this one. They won but there were points in the game where you can see that they could have used him. At 18 years old he still probably has the best pure puck handling skills on the team so he would have been effective against an elite defending team like the New York Islanders. Hopefully, this will be a very short-term thing.

Nikita Gusev was also impressive once again as his line with Travis Zajac and Blake Coleman continues to do work. They set up the Subban goal along with some checking shifts to help keep the Islanders at bay. Gusev had a rough start for about ten games or so but has really turned into that great offensive player we saw in the KHL last year.

The Devils will try to remain hot with a big game on Saturday night. They have beaten some great teams lately like the Islanders and the Boston Bruins but things don’t lighten up with the Colorado Avalanche coming to town. The Devils first scratched Taylor Hall against the Avalanche a few weeks ago and they played very well in a loss. This version of the Devils will look to have similar performance but just get a win this time.