Jesper Bratt stars as the New Jersey Devils beat the Ottawa Senators 6-2 for 3rd straight win
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jesper Bratt had a goal and three assists, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Ottawa Senators 6-2 on Friday night for their third straight win.
Brothers Luke and Jack Hughes each had a goal and two assists for the Devils (19-13-2), and Dawson Mercer, Tyler Toffoli and Brendan Smith also scored. Nico Daws made 25 saves in his first game of the season with New Jersey.
“That was a lot of fun. I was pretty nervous in the first period and getting the first couple of shots, but after that I kind of settled in,” Daws said.
“Everybody played fantastic and that was a full 60-minute effort. Everybody played really well.”
Drake Batherson and Jacob Bernard-Docker scored for the Senators (13-18-0), who had won two in a row. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 24 shots.
“Obviously not the result we wanted,” Bernard-Docker said. “From the start we lost a lot of battles tonight, myself included.
“I wasn’t at my best tonight, but we trust in this group and we’re learning the hard way right now.”
New Jersey carried a 4-1 lead into the final period. After killing a penalty, Nico Hischier hit Smith with a breakaway pass as he left the penalty box. Smith beat Korpisalo with a deke for his first goal with the Devils.
With just under seven minutes to play, Bernard-Docker took a point shot that hit a Devils player in front and went past Daws. It was his third goal of the season.
Luke Hughes then closed out the scoring, making it 6-2 with his sixth goal with 2:32 left.
“This was a huge game for us. We really needed these two points,” Bratt said. “It was a full team effort and obviously Nico played great in net and helped us out getting this win.”
The Senators opened the scoring midway through the first when Brady Tkachuk intercepted a clearing attempt inside the Devils’ blue line and fed Batherson in front. Batherson waited for Daws to go down and flipped the puck over him.
New Jersey responded with a pair of power-play goals. Jack Hughes scored at 13:10 and then Bratt put the Devils ahead with just eight seconds to play in the period.
“That’s a really good top six over there and if you give them time and space they’re going to score, and that’s what happened,” Batherson said.
“You get a lead in the first period at home and take a penalty and they tie it up and then we took a few more. It’s unfortunate but that’s the way it goes.”
In the second, New Jersey upped its lead to 4-1. Mercer scored at 7:17, followed by Toffoli at 14:47
The Senators finished 0 for 4 on the power play, and the Devils were 2 for 4.
UP NEXT
Devils: At the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
Senators: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night.
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
