National Hockey League
New Jersey 4, Detroit 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen: Greg Devorski, Steve Miller
Attendance: 20027

DETROIT -- Both the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings talked about getting things going quickly in the first game after the NHL All-Star break, but only the Devils lived up to their words.

New Jersey scored twice in the first 6:21 and roared to 4-1 lead before hanging on for a 4-3 victory over the Red Wings on Tuesday night.

Stefan Noesen gave the Devils the lead just 1:28 after the opening faceoff when he slammed the rebound of his own shot past Detroit goalie Jared Coreau.

Kyle Palmieri scored an unassisted, short-handed goal at 6:21, pouncing on a turnover by Detroit forward Thomas Vanek and darting around Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall before snapping a shot by Detroit goalie Jared Coreau. It was the first short-handed goal of Palmieri's NHL career.

"It got off to a great start," Palmieri said. "That's pretty key and something that we've stressed. Getting off to a good start was big for us."

The Red Wings also stressed the need to break from the gate quickly, but the Devils left Detroit in the starting blocks.

"I am looking for words. but it's tough to find them," Detroit forward Tomas Tatar said, seeking an explanation for their lack of urgency. "We didn't start on time for sure and they were just better.

"It's tough in the NHL when you are always behind. It's just costing you too much energy to catch up in the game. That's why we lost today."

The Wings got on the board with 1:57 left in the second period. Detroit's Gustav Nyquist threw the puck toward the New Jersey net and captain Henrik Zetterberg chipped the rolling puck between the right arm and body of Devils goalie Cory Schneider.

The revival was short lived. Palmieri took a feed from Taylor Hall and ripped a low wrist shot past Coreau on the stick side to make it 3-1 Devils with 33.1 seconds left in the period.

"They got a late one in the second, which could have put the pressure on going into the third, but a big one by Kyle at the end of the second to extend the lead and then we extended it to four," Schneider said. "That's something we've talked about, to not be satisfied with a lead, to keep pushing it and extend that lead.

"You need every goal you can get."

Adam Henrique added a second short-handed goal for the Devils in the third period.

"Special teams is such a big part of a team's success, so to be able to contribute in that way is big," Palmieri said.

New Jersey won its fifth straight road game. The Devils are 7-0-1 away from home since Dec. 29.

Henrique scooped up a Frans Nielsen turnover at the New Jersey blue line, raced down the ice and put a backhander past Coreau.

Detroit got third-period goals from defenseman Nick Jensen, his first in the NHL, and a power-play goal from Tatar, but the Red Wings' power play also failed to register a shot on goal during a 1:16 five-on-three advantage in the first period.

"We gave up two shorties, so I guess that's fundamentals," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said of their struggling power play. "To me, some of that’s still confidence. In terms of structure, I didn't see structure things wrong. But for sure, when you get on it you got to have confidence and poise and make plays and we didn't do enough of it."

Detroit, last in the Eastern Conference, fell to 0-4-1 in its last five games, equaling a season-high winless streak.

Red Wings forward Luke Glendening left the game briefly in the second period after he was inadvertently struck in the nose by the blade of the stick of Devils forward Jacob Josefson as Josefson tumbled to the ice after being body-checked by Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader. Glendening returned to action a few minutes later with plugs in both his nostrils.

NOTES: The Red Wings activated F Dylan Larkin (upper body injury) from injured reserve before the game and assigned F Drew Miller to AHL Grand Rapids. ... Detroit's NHL-worst power play (11.1 percent) ended a a 1-of-21 skid with that third-period goal. ... Devils F Mike Cammalleri, who played college hockey at Michigan, saw his three-game point streak (0-4-4) end. Cammalleri has 29 points in 30 games against Detroit. ... Henrique played his 400th NHL game. ... New Jersey will play nine of 11 February games on home ice at the Prudential Center. ... Detroit scratches were F Tomas Jurco and Ds Ryan Sproul and Alexey Marchenko. G Jimmy Howard (knee), D Brendan Smith (knee) and F Steve Ott (shoulder) remain on the injured list. ... New Jersey scratches were Ds Luke Gazdic and Seth Helgeson and F Sergey Kalinin. D John Moore (concussion), D Andy Greene (upper body) and F Beau Bennett (lower body) are on IL.
Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Detroit
Kyle Palmieri 2 Points Henrik Zetterberg 2
Kyle Palmieri 2 Goals Henrik Zetterberg 1
Taylor Hall 1 Assists Henrik Zetterberg 1
N/A Power Play Goals Tomas Tatar 1
Adam Henrique 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Cory Schneider .900 Save Percentage Jared Coreau .833
Cory Schneider 27 Saves Jared Coreau 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 24 4 0-1 4-5 10 31
Detroit 30 3 1-5 1-1 2 30
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .345 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Devils have a W/L % of .450 after a win and .387 after a loss.