Devils double up Oilers to end 7-game skid
Mar 14, 2019
Kenny Agostino, Damon Severson and Kevin Rooney each collected a goal and an assist, and six New Jersey players scored as the visiting Devils snapped a seven-game losing streak and handed the Edmonton Oilers a crushing 6-3 loss Wednesday night.
Devils goalie Cory Schneider stopped 36 shots in the win.
Going into the game, the injury-riddled Devils had 18 skaters who had combined for 99 goals this season. Edmonton's top three snipers -- Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- had a combined 98 tallies, but that didn't matter.
Agostino put New Jersey on top 7:34 into the game. Just as the Devils killed a penalty, Agostino took a shot that Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen blocked with his arm, only to see it bounce up and over him into the net.
The Oilers subsequently took a 2-1 lead. Sam Gagner had a shot bank off him before going into the net to put his team on the board at 9:37 of the first period, and Alex Chiasson reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career by redirecting a McDavid shot-pass just under five minutes later.
But it was all Devils from there. Travis Zajac tied the game with a power-play goal with 19 seconds left in the opening period. Severson put the Devils ahead for good 6:23 into the second period with another man-advantage marker, ringing a long point shot off the post and into the net.
John Quenneville gave the Devils a two-goal lead with his first goal of the season, a long shot from the top of the left circle that spelled the end of the night for Koskinen. Rooney made it a 5-2 count by burying a loose puck soon after.
Edmonton's Matt Benning scored with 40.5 seconds left in the middle frame to give the hosts life, but Blake Coleman's short-handed goal 12 minutes into the third period sealed the deal.
McDavid collected a pair of assists to give him three consecutive 100-point seasons, but the Oilers lost for the second time in three games. They sit six points out of a playoff spot with 12 games remaining.
Koskinen stopped 14 of the 18 shots he faced. His replacement, Anthony Stolarz, made 15 saves on 17 shots.
--Field Level Media