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Tag: Jesper Bratt

  • Nico Daws stops 35 shots, Devils top Panthers 4-1 to end Florida’s 9-game winning streak

    Nico Daws stops 35 shots, Devils top Panthers 4-1 to end Florida’s 9-game winning streak

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    By TIM REYNOLDS

    SUNRISE, Fla. — Nico Daws stopped 35 shots, Jesper Bratt scored for the second straight game and the New Jersey Devils snapped Florida’s nine-game winning streak by topping the Panthers 4-1 on Saturday night.

    Bratt’s goal was his 16th of the season, tying Tyler Toffoli for the New Jersey lead this season. Alexander Holtz and Erik Haula each got their 10th goal of the season for the Devils, who have gotten 13 of a possible 18 points in their last nine games by going 6-2-1.

    Daws improved to 3-0-0 on the road this season. He was making just his fourth appearance of the season for the Devils, who scored the game’s first three goals and sealed it on John Marino’s empty-netter with 18.6 seconds left.

    Sam Reinhart got his 31st goal for Florida, and Sergei Bobrovsky — announced as an All-Star selection earlier in the day when fan voting was revealed — stopped 18 shots for the Panthers.

    Reinhart has 13 goals in his last 10 games and has scored in each of the last six for Florida. Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Montour got the assists on Reinhart’s power-play goal that made it 3-1 late in the second.

    Tkachuk’s point streak stretched to eight games; he’s got seven goals and 10 assists in that span.

    The nine-game winning streak was the third-longest in any Panthers season, behind only a 13-game run from March 29-April 23, 2022 and a 12-game stretch from Dec. 15, 2015 through Jan. 10, 2016. The Panthers remained No. 2 in the Eastern Conference with the loss, behind only Atlantic Division rival Boston.

    The Panthers celebrated Pride Night, which included, among other promotions, several players using pride-themed tape on their sticks for warmups, the national anthem being performed by the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida and the team’s foundation auctioning exclusive Pride jerseys with all proceeds benefiting local South Florida LGBTQ+ organizations.

    In 2013, Florida was the first NHL team to play host to a pride night.

    UP NEXT

    Devils: Visit Boston on Monday afternoon.

    Panthers: Host Anaheim on Monday afternoon.

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    Associated Press

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  • Devils top Oilers, tie franchise mark with 13th straight win

    Devils top Oilers, tie franchise mark with 13th straight win

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    NEWARK, N.J. — The young New Jersey Devils are making a name for themselves — in the team’s record book.

    Nico Hischier had three assists and the no-name Devils beat the Connor McDavid-led Edmonton Oilers 5-2 Monday night to match a franchise mark with their 13th consecutive win.

    “I guess we’re up there with the history book,” Hischier said. “Nobody is going to take that from us now and it feels good. It proves that we’re a good team, that we can win hockey games, that we don’t have to hide anymore.”

    Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, Damon Severson, Tomas Tatar and Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Devils, who haven’t lost since Oct. 24 against Washington. Vitek Vanecek made 27 saves for New Jersey.

    “It’s awesome winning,” said Bratt, who leads the team with 24 points. “So is everything around the rink and being with the guys and playing these important games. That means a lot, and winning is the best thing possible in hockey.”

    The Devils still have three quarters of the season to go, but they are well on the road to making the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

    “We’ve had a great run. We know that we’re kind of the hunted now,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “We know that we’re going to expect probably the best every team can bring because we’re getting recognition. So that part we have to deal with. But 19 games in you can’t say, ‘We sent a message to the league.’”

    Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for the Oilers, beaten twice by New Jersey during its run. Stuart Skinner made 23 saves, but had the puck taken off his stick by Hischier early in the second period to set up the go-ahead goal by Mercer into a wide-open net.

    “Obviously a tough game. Tough loss,” Skinner said. “They’re obviously a great team. They’re obviously hot right now as well. They’ve got some great players that make some great plays and it was just tough to lose, especially two in a row to these guys. But all we can do is learn from our mistakes and move on.”

    Severson stretched the margin to 3-1 on a counterattack minutes later.

    Edmonton made a push early in the third. Nugent-Hopkins cut it to 3-2 at 4:52 and had a close-in chance to tie it, only to be stopped by Vanecek, who improved to 9-1.

    Tatar gave the Devils breathing room about a minute later, gloving down the rebound of Mercer’s shot and beating Skinner. Sharangovich added an insurance goal with 5:15 to go.

    Jack Hughes had two assists for the Devils.

    ROUGH NIGHT IN NET

    Not only did Skinner hand the Devils the go-ahead goal, backup netminder Jack Campbell also had a bad night.

    Sitting on the end of the bench late in the second period, Campbell was cut when he was hit in the face by a puck that seemed to be deflected by Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Campbell immediately left the bench and did not return for the third period.

    “I went and saw him after the second period, and he was laughing and smiling. So that’s the kind of guy he is,” Skinner said. “But no, he had a pretty bloody nose and obviously it’s hard to see that happen, especially to him. I think he’s fine.”

    UP NEXT

    Oilers: Continue their swing through the New York metropolitan area when they visit the Islanders on Wednesday. Edmonton finishes in New York City on Saturday against the Rangers.

    Devils: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

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    More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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