The short Christmas break didn’t stop New Jersey’s momentum in the NHL.
The Devils beat Carolina 4-2 on Friday in Newark for their third consecutive victory, the sixth in their last seven outings.
Two of the three ‘Swiss Devils’ stood out. Captain Nico Hischier scored his 18th goal of the season to allow his team to take the lead for the first time (17th, 2-1. Defender Jonas Siegenthaler was credited with an assist 42 seconds later early on the 1-1 signed Ondrej Palat.
Timo Meier, on the other hand, remained ‘mute’ after having scored at least 1 point in his three previous meetings. Like his two compatriots, he was not on the ice when the Devils forced the decision in the second period on successes from Luke Hughes (25th, 3-2) and Dawson Mercer (29th, 4-2).
This victory, its 24th of the season in 38 matches played, allows New Jersey to consolidate its 1st place in the Eastern Conference with 51 points. The Devils had a 3-unit lead over the Washington Capitals on Friday evening, who however played four games less.
The recovery was more difficult for the other Swiss entered on Friday. Roman Josi and the Predators were beaten 7-4 in St. Louis, with the Bernese posting a -3 record at the end of this game. Lian Bichsel and the Stars lost 3-2 after overtime to Minnesota, while Philipp Kurashev and the Blackhawks were crushed 6-2 in Buffalo.
/ATS
Swiss
