NEWARK, N.J. - Devante Smith-Pelly, Mike Sislo and Adam Henrique scored two goals apiece and the New Jersey Devils had their best offensive performance of the season with a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
Devante Smith-Pelly records his first career three-point game and establishes a new career high with 21 points.
— NJDevilsPR (@NJDevilsPR) March 18, 2016
Reid Boucher also scored, Tyler Kennedy added a season-high three assists and Keith Kinkaid made 28 saves as New Jersey snapped a three-game home losing streak and rebounded from a 7-1 disaster in Anaheim on Monday.
First three-point game for Tyler Kennedy since Nov. 25, 2011 vs. Ott. (1g-2a).
— NJDevilsPR (@NJDevilsPR) March 18, 2016
Nino Niederreiter, Jared Spurgeon, Justin Fontaine and Mikko Koivu scored for the Wild, who squandered a chance to move ahead of Colorado into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a too-little, too-late effort in losing their second straight.
This one was never in doubt. Smith-Pelly and Sislo scored in the opening 1:34 and New Jersey hit the net three times on their first eight shots against Devan Dubnyk, sending him to the bench late in the opening period.
Backup Darcy Kuemper didn't fare much better. He gave up a goal on the first shot he faced, an uncontested shot in close by Smith-Pelly early in the second for a 4-1 lead.
New Jersey, which only took 25 shots, dominated the Wild in close with five of the first six goals being tallied either in the crease or on the edge of it. The exception was Sislo's second NHL goal, which came from the top of the right circle for a 6-2 lead in the second period.
That goal capped another outburst with Henrique and Sislo, who missed practice on Wednesday because of an illness, scoring 38 seconds apart.
Smith-Pelly, who has six goals and three assists in seven games since being acquired from Montreal, and Sislo, who had not scored in his first 32 NHL games, tallied 51 seconds apart to stake New Jersey to a 2-0 lead.
Related: Smith-Pelley a scoring machine since joining the Devils
It was the fastest two goals to start a game for New Jersey since Randy McKay and Brian Rolston scored in the opening 1:13 against Philadelphia in 1998.
Niederreiter got his 17th of the season on a power play at 14:15, but Boucher pushed the margin to 3-1 three minutes later when Dubnyk could not control a point shot and Boucher shoved it into the net after Kennedy slid the puck across the crease.
Minnesota never got close again.
NOTES: The Devils' previous high was six goals against Ottawa on Jan. 21. ... Dubnyk was 5-1-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average in his last seven games. ... Ryan Suter broke the Wild single-season record for assists by a defenseman, picking up his 38th on Spurgeon's goal. ... Devils D Andy Greene played in his 300th consecutive game. ... Minnesota has power-play goals on the road in 14 of 15 games. ... New Jersey is now 3-5, wearing its red, white and green retro jerseys. ... The Devils finished their season against the Western Conference with a 16-11-1 record. They were 2-0 against Minnesota. ... It was Kennedy's first three-point game since 2011.
-with files from theScore
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff joined elite company when he stepped behind the bench Thursday night.
Taking in his 1,401 game as a coach, he passed former Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks great Patt Quinn, and tied Ron Wilson for fifth-most games coached in NHL history.
During his 18-year career, Ruff has amassed a record of 693-515-192. His 693 wins also put him fifth all-time.
This year he has coached his Stars to a Western Conference-best 91 points.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
A change of scenery is all Devante Smith-Pelly needed.
The newest member of the New Jersey Devils has been scoring at an unbelievable pace since joining the team ahead of the trade deadline, and added another two goals and an assist Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.
Smith-Pelly with a pair, now looking for the hat trick... #MINvsNJDhttps://t.co/vjJkhCd8gO
— NHL (@NHL) March 18, 2016
With a couple more tallies, Smith-Pelly now has six goals and nine points in seven games since being dealt to the Devils from the Montreal Canadiens.
Devante Smith-Pelly: 6 goals in 46 games with MTL this season, now has 6 in 7 w/#Devils (double what Stefan Matteau had in 46 GP as a Devil)
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) March 18, 2016
The 23-year-old appears to have rekindled the offensive side of his game. As a member of the Canadiens this season, he managed just six goals and 12 points in 46 games.
Things couldn't be going any better for Smith-Pelley, and while he did shed tears after learning about his trade to the Devils, chances are he is relishing the opportunity he's been given.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Crosby point streak: 10 games
— NHL (@NHL) March 17, 2016
Crosby goal total: 30https://t.co/k6jtWpGp1f
Sidney Crosby needed no help pushing his point streak to 10 games Thursday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins danced through the Carolina Hurricanes defense before pushing a backhand past goaltender Eddie Lack to cut the Hurricanes lead to 2-1.
The goal extends his point streak, which currently sits as the longest in the league.
Sidney Crosby: 7th career 30 G season- failed to just twice when playing at least half a season: 2007-08 (24 in 53 GP), '14-15 (28 in 77 GP)
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) March 17, 2016
The 28-year-old now has 15 points over his past 10 games, and 71 points overall.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Generations will collide when the Florida Panthers take the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday.
The game will mark the first time Maple Leafs rookie William Nylander will share the ice with Jaromir Jagr, or at least the first time in many years. Ahead of Thursday's contest, Nylander recalled the time he strapped on the goalie pads and took shots from the ageless wonder.
"I think I was goalie one time and he came out on the ice and was shooting on me when I was like 10 (year-old) or something," Nylander told reporters. "I think he scored, he wasn't going too hard on me, but he was able to score on me."
Nylander added that following the shootout, Jagr -who had been playing on a line with his father Michael Nylander and Martin Straka - had a nice chat with him and his younger brother Alex.
"It will be pretty amazing playing against a guy that's going to be in the Hall of Fame, a big legend," said Nylander. "He played with my father too in New York. It's going to be fun playing against him."
Things won't be easy for Nylander and the Maple Leafs, as Jagr has six points in his past five games. But at least Nylander won't be charged with stopping shots this time around.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Vancouver Canucks winger Jannik Hansen will be out through the weekend - and miss at least two more games - after suffering a setback in his recovery from a rib injury, the team announced Thursday.
He's been out since the beginning of March.
With the benefit of spending a large portion of the season on a line with the Sedin twins, Hansen achieved the team's highest 5-on-5 scoring rate at 2.24 points per 60 minutes.
He's already established a career high with 19 goals and with 32 points, and was well on his way to passing the 40-point threshold for the first time in his career.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.