Dawson Mercer scored twice and the New Jersey Devils beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 at the Prudential Center.
The Devils (27-17-6) had not enjoyed victory in their last four games (0-2-2). New Jersey is 3-6-3 in its last 12 games and has scored just 25 goals during that stretch.
Mercer tied the game 1-1 at 1:24 of the second period with a shot without warning after turning in the slot. Dougie Hamilton (one goal, one assist) and Stefan Noesen continued the momentum on the power play and Mercer struck again before the end of this one-sided period, putting the finishing touches on a superb initiated tic-tac-toe by Timo Meier (two assists) and Justin Dowling.
Nico Hischier (one goal, two assists) added a third goal in the five-man attack in the final period and Jake Allen stopped 16 shots after replacing Jacob Markstrom at the start of the second period. Markstrom, beaten once on seven shots, left the game after contact with Justin Brazeau at 3:09 of the second period.
Morgan Geekie scored the only goal for the Bruins (24-19-6), in the first period, helped by Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak. The latter has collected at least one point in each of his last five games (five goals, seven assists).
-Jeremy Swayman allowed four goals on 29 shots before giving way to Joonas Korpisalo, who allowed one goal on six shots.
Before the game, the Devils held a ceremony to honor their former coach Jacques Lemaire, who became the third member of the team’s ring of honor. Lemaire guided the Devils to their first Stanley Cup in 1995.
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