Newark N.J. — Dougie Hamilton scored twice on the power play and the New Jersey Devils extended their winning streak to seven games with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night at the Prudential Center.
Connor Brown added an empty-net goal, and captain Nico Hischier notched two assists for the Devils (7-1-0), who haven’t lost since dropping their season opener to Carolina. Goaltender Jake Allen made 16 saves to remain unbeaten at 4-0-0.
William Eklund scored the lone goal for San Jose (1-5-2), which was unable to build on Thursday’s 6-5 overtime win over the New York Rangers that ended its six-game winless start. Yaroslav Askarov stopped 27 shots in the loss.
The Sharks struck first on a power play just 2:25 into the game. With Hischier in the penalty box for tripping, Macklin Celebrini’s shot deflected loose in front, and Eklund corralled the puck before sliding it past Allen for his second goal of the season.
New Jersey responded in the second period with two goals from Hamilton. Just 40 seconds in, while still on a power play that carried over from the first period, Hamilton fired a shot from the left circle into the top corner to tie the score at 1-1.
Midway through the period, Jack Hughes circled behind the San Jose net and fed Hamilton in the slot, who one-timed a shot past Askarov at 9:08 for his second power-play tally of the night and a 2-1 Devils lead. It was the third multi–power-play goal game of Hamilton’s career.
San Jose failed to register a shot on goal in the entire second period, as New Jersey outshot the Sharks 13-0 during that span.
Brown sealed the win with his fourth goal of the season, an empty-netter with 47 seconds left.
The Devils’ special teams proved the difference, going 2-for-4 on the power play and holding San Jose to one goal on three chances.
Up Next:
Sharks: Conclude their four-game road trip Sunday at Minnesota.
Devils: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday to begin a home-and-home series.
