Hischier Hat Trick Leads Devils Past Wild | GAME STORY

ST. PAUL, MN - Nico Hischier took charge early and kept on contributing against the Minnesota Wild on their way to a 5-2 victory in Minnesota.

Hischier recorded his second career hat trick on Saturday evening with two even strength and a power play goal against the Wild.

Just 29 seconds into the game, the Devils captain put his team up by a goal as he banked home a rebound off Wild netminder Filip Gustavsson's pad. Jesper Bratt took the initial shot off a rush play, popping the puck off Gustavsson's pads with the rebound landing directly on Hischier's stick.

“No, I don’t know," Hischier said of whether it was an intentional bounce off the pads by Bratt. "I love that Bratter shoots it, but I somehow thought he’d find me, and he did,” Hischier grinned. “Just another way. I love Bratter shooting it, he has an awesome shot and it’s a smart shot. It goes in, or not and it bounces over to me and it worked out perfect.”

Paul Cotter added the Devils' second goal at 5:46 of the opening period from a short-angle shot to extend Jersey's lead.

Marcus Foligno scored for Minnesota to close out the first period with the Devils leading 2-1.

After a goalless second period, Minnesota's Ryan Hartman would bring the Wild within one, after a wild bounce of the puck ended up behind Jacob Markstrom and the Wild crashing crease to poke the puck past the goal line.

Hischier and Tomas Tatar answered for the Devils in the third period to erase all hopes for Minnesota and securing the win for New Jersey.

Markstrom, who won two consecutive games for the first time since returning from injury, made 22 saves on 24 shots, including all 12 in the second period.

"That’s a huge win for us in the standings but a huge morale and emotional win," Jonathan Kovacevic said. "I think everyone bought in, everyone dug in and came together and that’s something that’s hard to put into words but you can feel it in the dressing room.”

“I really just thought it was a determined effort," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "To me, it was one of those nights where you’re not going to be denied and there’s no panic in the group in that third period. A lot of things to love about our game tonight.”

The feistiness between the two teams on Saturday evening should set up an exciting rematch between the two teams, in just 48 hours. On Monday night when they take their competition to New Jersey, when the Devils host the Wild.

Here are some observations from the game:

• The game was a fiery affair, with plenty of extracurricular activity between the whistles and at the end of periods as tempers were high between the two teams fighting for playoff positioning.

Jonathan Kovacevic and Minnesota's Marcus Foligno dropped the gloves in the second period after Kovacevic took exception to a hit from behind on teammate Brian Dumoulin. Kovacevic and Foligno had also had a shoving match in the first period when Kovacevic was called for a cross-check on Foligno.

“Kovy standing up there for our guy, that’s big for our team," Hischier said. "Foligno is a big boy and Kovy sent a message there . For our group, that’s important; we stood our ground, and we didn’t fold. It was a high-intensity game out there, and we came up with an earned win.”

• Jacob Markstrom is as fiery as they come, and in the second period, in particular, his passion was on full display, not only by turning away all 12 shots he faced in the period, but he was not up for any nonsense around his net either. As the Wild continued to crash his net, Markstrom did not shy away from engaging with the Minnesota players after the whistles, standing his ground.

“The way he approaches his game, he’s such a pro but has so much passion, energy, emotion,” Kovacevic said, “We all feed off that. He kind of came in and told us ‘Hey, just so you guys know, you don’t have to take a penalty if I do something, but lets get the boys going!’ He’s awesome. I can’t say enough good things about Marky.”

• Nico Hischier has a knack for scoring quick goals this season. His goal against the Wild came 29 seconds after puck drop, which is the fastest the Devils have scored to start a game this season. He breaks the mark he set earlier this season, on Oct. 30 in Vancouver, when he scored 53 seconds into the game.

Hischier's goal was his 31st of the year, tying his career-high that he set two seasons ago. It also brought his season total points to 60, guaranteeing four consecutive seasons of 60 or more points for the Devils captain.

His second goal of the night, a wrist shot that pinged off the post and into the net, sets a new career-high in goals in a season for the Devils captain with his 32nd. His hat trick goal brings him up to a career-high 33.

“That’s how it goes sometimes," Hischier said of the benefit of three goals. "Sometimes the puck bounces right in front of you, sometimes you can do as much as you want and it doesn’t go in. I’m glad that tonight it worked out and I was able to help the team get that win.”

• You have to appreciate every moment of effort, taking advantage of every second on the clock to your advantage. With 1.2 seconds left on the clock in the second period and an offensive zone draw, Sheldon Keefe called Jacob Markstrom to the bench for an extra skater with such limited time on the clock. And with a player like Nico Hischier on the ice to take the faceoff, you set yourself up nicely in terms of the odds of winning the faceoff. Which is exactly what Hischier did. Although the Devils didn't score in the 1.2 seconds, Luke Hughes did get a shot off that was blocked before it could reach the net.

• Stefan Noesen's long-range pass from the hash marks to Jesper Bratt streaking down the wing resulted in the secondary assist on Hischier's goal. It was Noesen's 38th point of the season to set a new career-high, surpassing his 37 from last season in Carolina.

• Luke Hughes returned to the Devils lineup after sitting out last game with a lower-body injury. Hughes was held out of the previous game for precautionary reasons and because of the upcoming back-to-back scenario. Now, with today's game and a day off tomorrow, Hughes was able to get back into the lineup.

• There was some tinkering done to the Devils forward lines, with Nolan Foote and Daniel Sprong entering the lineup while Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian were healthy scratches.