No-Bull Nico Hischier Propels Devils With Natural Hat-Trick, Defeat Predators 5-2

The New Jersey Devils ended the drought on Monday night, defeating the Nashville Predators 5-2 on home ice.

RELATED: Devils Seeking to Snap Nine-Year Streak vs. Predators

The Devils train is steam rolling as they’ve now collected three consecutive wins, and have taken five of their last six. Led by their captain, especially on Monday against the Predators, the Devils are continuing to shape into what general manager Tom Fitzgerald envisioned following his body of work this summer.

Devils Recap

Despite the Devils heavily controlling the early pace of play, the Predators needed all of one shot to take an early lead. From an unlikely destination on the far wall, Filip Forsberg picked a corner to put Nashville ahead 1-0. The Devils struck back, however, as Erik Haula deposited his fifth goal of the season to tie the game at one each.

Devils captain Nico Hischier dominated in the second period, recording a natural hat-trick to put his team ahead 4-1 heading into the second intermission.

Zachary L’Heureux notched one back for Nashville in the third period, however, Justin Dowling hit the empty-net to secure the Devils’ 5-2 victory over the Predators.

After allowing a goal on the first Predators shot of the game, Jacob Markstrom buckled down for 19 saves on 21 shots, stopping 7/7 pucks on the penalty kill.

Takeaways

Patience Pays Off

The good news about the Devils this year is when they find themselves down a goal, they don’t cave.

Continuing to apply the pressure offensively, Dawson Mercer led a rush through the neutral zone into the offensive end of the ice. He had Erik Haula and Johnathan Kovacevic flanking him, and chose the right moment to feed the Devils defenseman on his right.

Thanks to Mercer’s precision pass, Kovacevic was able to slip past Nashville’s defenders, displayed great patience of his own, and fed Haula for an easy tap-in to tie the game at one goal each.

The patient play from some unlikely heroes showcased the growing maturity of the Devils’ roster.

Haula at ya boy! pic.twitter.com/xF8tuyemz7

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 26, 2024

No-Bull Nico

The Nico Hischier redemption arc is in full swing.

The Devils captain isn’t taking any bull from his opposition this season. Last game against the Washington Capitals, he and Connor McMichael got into it, receiving unsportsmanlike conduct penalties each and continued to jaw off at each other in the penalty box.

Hischier’s no-bull attitude carried over into Monday night’s contest against the Predators, and it’ exactly what is going to put him back into the Selke Trophy conversation.

After collecting his first goal, Hischier battled for net-front presence with Jeremy Lauzon who illegally took him down to the ice despite no penalty on the play.

Clearly frustrated with Lauzon, Hischier collected a loose puck on the power play and buried his second goal of the game.

Hischier showed a bit of extra emotion following the goal. New Jersey Hockey Now asked the Devils captain if that was due to Lauzon tying him up and dumping him to the ice the way he did.

“Yeah, probably a little bit… yeah,” Hischier responded.

Hat-trick aside, Hischier played a hard-nosed game all night, staying physical, winning puck battles and position on the ice. He continues to evolve his game, and has developed a no BS attitude from the opposition.

Immaculate PK

With tensions high between the Devils and Predators, Timo Meier took a five-minute major and game misconduct for cross-checking L’Heureux in the face.

With both Meier and L’Heureux done for the night, the Predators went to a five-minute power play, yet couldn’t solve the Devils’ PK efforts.

Erik Haula claimed, “They didn’t really get any chances.”

That’s because the Devils did an excellent job clogging passing lanes, negating rush chances, forcing turnovers at their blue line, and winning puck battles in the defensive end of the ice to clear the rubber from danger.

“It was outstanding. Obviously, I hate the penalty and the fact that we’re in that position,” Sheldon Keefe explained. “But the guys had to dig in and find a way. I thought we killed it wonderfully. It wasn’t like we were scrambling. We were well in control, and we got it done.”

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