The New Jersey Devils had a back-to-back this weekend with two road games. They needed to have a good weekend as they were trying to stay firmly in the playoff race.
The first game took place on Friday night against the Ottawa Senators. They earned a big 6-1 win in this one. Guys like Luke Hughes, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt all had big nights.
Nico Daws made his season debut with the Devils in this only allowing two goals on 27 shots. He is up in place of Akira Schmid who was sent down to AHL Utica.
This was the third straight win for New Jersey dating back to before the Christmas break. They wanted to keep that going when making their stop against the Boston Bruins one night later.
The New Jersey Devils went 1-1 over this weekend on the road
That game against the Bruins started well. Nico Hischier and Luke Hughes scored goals to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. Things were looking good at that point.
Unfortunately, the Bruins scored five unanswered goals and won the game 5-2. The Devils' struggles in the second legs of back-to-backs showed in the later portions of this game.
Once the Bruins scored one goal, the Devils had no answer for the onslaught that was coming. Now, they move forward looking to start another winning streak.
This is not good for New Jersey. They had to have a good showing against the Bruins to finally start feeling good in these back-to-back games. That will have to wait but they have to win these games eventually. It could be the difference this season.
Luke Hughes had an incredible weekend. He scored a goal in both games and had two assists along the way. His offense is coming along and he is as important as any defenseman on the team.
Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt each had a goal and three assists over the weekend as well. They really are peanut butter and jelly together, as a wise man once said.
New Jersey is off for a few days now. They will return to action on Wednesday when they take on the Washington Capitals. That game will be very meaningful based on how the Metropolitan standings look right now.