Devils have eyes on unbeaten road trip ahead of date with Kraken
The New Jersey Devils will look to complete an unbeaten trip Sunday in Seattle.
The Devils are 3-0-0 on their Western swing, having defeated Calgary and Edmonton by 2-1 scores before a 5-4 victory Friday in Vancouver.
"It's been a really good road trip for us," said New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe, whose team has won five of its past six games and entered the weekend within four points of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. "As much you don't love some of the things that happened (Friday) -- giving the game back a little bit in that second period, giving them life and hope at the end of the game there -- some of that, I think, could serve as a nice little jolt on this road trip now to keep us focused."
Cody Glass had two goals and an assist against the Canucks, and Nico Hischier and Lenni Hameenaho added one of each.
It was the first NHL points for Hameenaho, a 21-year-old playing in his third game since being recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League.
"Obviously, it's a dream to score your first goal," Hameenaho said. "It was a great feeling."
Hameenaho was playing on the Devils' fourth line with Glass and Arseny Gritsyuk. That trio also combined for both goals Wednesday in Edmonton.
"Glass has been unbelievable as of late," teammate Connor Brown said. "We got a nice mix. Four lines that can contribute, and being able to roll four lines, keep the pace up, it's easier to check hard when you're fresh."
Brown's goal came after Vancouver had trimmed a three-goal deficit to 3-2.
"I think the biggest thing is that we understand what it looks like when we're playing well," Brown said. "Even a game like that, you come away with a win, but we understand that's not what it's supposed to look like for us; you learn from wins and losses, too. So, just keep getting better and back to what's made us successful as of late."
The Devils and Kraken met Jan. 14 in Newark, N.J., with the hosts winning 3-2 in overtime. Hischier, who leads the team with 16 goals and 39 points, tallied twice in that game -- including the winner with 1:18 remaining in OT.
The Kraken have lost seven of their past nine games (2-5-2) to drop out of a playoff position in the Western Conference.
They suffered a 4-2 loss to visiting Anaheim on Friday after falling behind by two goals in the first period.
"Terrible, terrible hockey game for our team. Terrible first 40 minutes," Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. "We had a push at the end. But I don't have a logical explanation for an illogical event. That was the worst 40 minutes we played all year."
Captain Jordan Eberle, who has a team-leading 17 goals, concurred with his coach's assessment.
"We didn't start in the first two periods," Eberle said. "In my opinion, we were getting outbattled. We were kind of all over the place early on; our systems were disconnected. In the third, we made a push, but at the end of the day, you're down two, and it's a tough way to come back. We can't keep doing this to ourselves."