OTTAWA – Jesper Bratt had a goal and three assists as the New Jersey Devils beat the Ottawa Senators 6-2 on Friday to stretch their win streak to three.
Brothers Luke and Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists each for the Devils (19-13-2), while Dawson Mercer, Tyler Toffoli and Brendan Smith also scored. Nico Daws made 24 saves for the win in net.
Drake Batherson and Jacob Bernard-Docker had the goals for the Senators (13-18-0), who saw their two-game winning streak halted. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 23 shots in the loss.
The Devils went into the final period up 4-1 and 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 New Jersey.
With just under seven minutes to play, Bernard-Docker took a point shot that hit a Devils player in front and past Daws cutting New Jersey’s lead to 5-2.
Luke Hughes closed out the scoring giving the Devils a 6-2 lead at 17:28 of the third period.
The Senators opened the scoring midway through the opening period when Tkachuk intercepted a clearing attempt inside the Devils’ blue line and fed Batherson in front of Daws. Batherson waited for Daws to go down and flipped the puck over him into the back of the net.
New Jersey responded with a pair of power-play goals before the end of the period to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Jack Hughes scored at 13:10 and then Bratt put the Devils ahead with just eight seconds to play in the period.
In the second, New Jersey upped their lead to 4-1 as Mercer scored at 7:17 followed by Toffoli at 14:47
The Senators finished 0 for 4 on the power play while the Devils were 2 for 4.
NOTES — The game marked the first of three meetings between the teams this season. They will face off in New Jersey on March 23 and then again back in Ottawa on April 6 … Forwards Zack MacEwen and Mathieu Joseph were scratches for the Senators … Defenceman Colin Miller and forward Curtis Lazar were scratches for the Devils … Senators captain Brady Tkachuk collected his 300th career point with a first-period assist on Friday … Devils forward Jesper Bratt collected his 200th career point, also with a first period assist Friday.
UP NEXT — The Senators will conclude a brief two-game homestand when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. They will then head out on a five-game road trip.
The Devils play in Boston on Saturday and in Washington on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2023.
