N.J. Devils: Mackenzie Blackwood Puts Penguins Into Deep Freeze

From the desk: THE BRICK CITY STYX

Devils lead Penguins; 2-1

I - NJD 3; PITT 2

II - PITT 3; NJD 1

III - NJD 2; PITT 1*

*overtime

Three Wins in Four Games is a Trend

And that's a wrap!

Jesper Bratt's wraparound goal at the 2:50 mark of overtime was just as artful as the weaving and assists he received from Ty Smith and Pavel Zacha.  

With the Devils coming off Saturday's loss at Newark, Sidney Crosby opened the scoring on Sunday just 3:37 into the first period.  There would be no change in scoring until 4:48 of the second period on Sami Vatanen's second goal of the season.  And that's the way things stayed for the remaining 35:12 minutes left of regulation.

Mackenzie Blackwood returned between the pipes.  He faced 35 total shots, including three on the PK, and stopped all but one during even strength.  Otherwise, after yielding Crosby's goal in the first, Blackwood shut out the Penguins over the final 59:13 minutes of play.

The Devils played near equal hockey, as did their competition.  They finished just minus-one in shots on goal, minus-two in hits, and plus-two in face-offs won.  Both teams were scoreless in two power-play opportunities each.

After playing Pittsburgh three times in four days, including back-to-back nights, the Devils come away with two wins out of three.  They are now 3-1 in their last four.  There's a chance, as I suggested when writing about Mika Zibanejad, many Devils players might finally be getting over any lingering effects of the COVID virus and needing to adhere to quarantine protocols.