National Hockey League
New Jersey 8, Chicago 5
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, January 14, 2019
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Referees: Graham Skilliter, Brad Watson
Linesmen: Ryan Daisy, Jonny Murray
Attendance: 15204

Kyle Palmieri scored the first two of the New Jersey's five unanswered second-period goals Monday night, and the Devils hung on to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 8-5 in a wild and eventually fight-filled affair at Newark, N.J.

Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Sami Vatanen and Kevin Rooney scored within a span of less than 13 minutes as the Devils blew open what was a 1-1 game. Blake Coleman opened the scoring with a breakaway goal in the first and closed it with an empty-netter in the third. Brett Seney also scored in the final period for New Jersey, which has won two straight following a three-game losing streak.

Rookie goalie Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves as he won for the fifth time in his past seven starts.

The eight-goal game was the first for the Devils since an 8-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on March 14, 2018, and their first at home since an 8-5 victory over the New York Rangers on Dec. 12, 2008.

The Blackhawks, who have lost four straight (0-2-2), made things interesting in the final two periods. Patrick Kane, who tied the score with a power-play goal 3:07 into the second, stopped the Devils' flurry by scoring with 1:41 left in the middle period. Kane then picked off a Blackwood clearing pass and dished to Brent Seabrook to pull Chicago within 6-3 just 42 seconds later.

In the third period, Chicago's Dominik Kahun scored 38 seconds after Seney. The Blackhawks pulled within 7-5 on Brandon Saad's goal with 1:32 left, after which goalie Collin Delia was pulled. Coleman finally iced the game by scoring with 33.2 seconds left.

Delia stopped 14 of 15 shots in relief of Cam Ward, who took the loss after giving up six goals on 25 shots over the first two periods.

The Blackhawks allowed eight goals for the second time this year. Chicago fell 8-3 to the Golden Knights on Nov. 27.

A fight broke out with 14.7 seconds left after Rooney delivered a hard check to the Blackhawks' David Kampf near center ice. Rooney, teammate Ben Lovejoy and Chicago's Drake Caggiula and Connor Murphy drew penalties following the brawl.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Chicago   New Jersey
Patrick Kane 4 Points Blake Coleman 3
Patrick Kane 2 Goals Blake Coleman 2
Patrick Kane 2 Assists Travis Zajac 2
Patrick Kane 1 Power Play Goals Kyle Palmieri 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Collin Delia .933 Save Percentage Mackenzie Blackwood .844
Cam Ward 19 Saves Mackenzie Blackwood 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Chicago 32 5 1-4 0-2 13 35
New Jersey 41 8 2-2 3-4 17 25
Upcoming Games
  • New Jersey will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Devils have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .370 after a loss.
  • Chicago will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .353 after a win and .323 after a loss.