Hischier gets 3 points, Devils end 4-game slide with win against Bruins

NEWARK, N.J. – Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists and the New Jersey Devils ended a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 win against the Boston Bruins at Prudential Center on Wednesday.

Dawson Mercer scored two goals in the second period, Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist, and Timo Meier had two assists for the Devils (27-17-6), who are 1-2-2 in their past five games. Jacob Markstrom allowed one goal on seven shots before sustaining an undisclosed injury early in the second period.

Jake Allen made 16 saves in shutout relief to earn his first win since Nov. 23 (in seven appearances).

“You lose a guy mid-game, but you're also without Erik Haula (ankle) and Ondrej Palat (illness), so you need guys to step up and do their job,” Allen said. “I thought that second period was obviously one of the best periods we played of late and it sort of sets a standard for us to come back and try to replicate that.”

Morgan Geekie scored for the Bruins (23-20-6), who are 3-1-1 in their past five games. Jeremy Swayman allowed four goals on 29 shots in two periods. He was replaced by Joonas Korpisalo (five saves on six shots) at the start of the third period.

“When you’re winning and you aren’t thinking, you are just playing the right way and then sometimes when you lose a few in a row, you’re overthinking things and not playing the right way,” Bruins forward Charlie Coyle said. “It’s a big mental game and we have to make sure we’re always right [mentally] because that controls the physical part of it.”

Geekie gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 5:50 of the first period on a one-timer from the left face-off circle.

“I don’t think our execution has been there,” Geekie said. “We’re trying to find an answer and what we are doing isn’t good enough. We know it. It’s embarrassing frankly, the way we are letting these games slip away from us.”

New Jersey scored four goals on 17 shots in the second period. It marked the first game in which the Devils scored at least four goals in a game since a 4-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 27.

Mercer pulled the Devils into a 1-1 tie at 1:24 of the second period when he scored on a snap shot after spinning at the right hashmark.

“The second period was a big momentum changer,” Mercer said. “There was a sequence where pretty much every line had a shift in the offensive zone before there was a whistle. I think that kind of just put us in a different level, in a different gear, and I think we just ran with it from there right to the end of the game.”

The line of Justin Dowling centering left wing Meier and Mercer accounted for five points (two goals, three assists) and eight shots on goal.

“That line was tremendous,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “They had a lot of great shifts. I thought Meier and Mercer both had their best game in a long time.”

Markstrom was forced from the game when Justin Brazeau crashed into him on a shot attempt at 3:09 of the second. Brazeau was penalized for goalie interference and on the ensuing power play, Hamilton scored just inside the left post on a snap shot from the left face-off circle for a 2-1 lead at 4:12 of the second.

“We’ll take some time before we have a full extent on [Markstrom] but I talked to him and he was in good spirits,” Keefe said. “He commented to me that he’s feeling a lot better now than he was before so that’s positive news.”

Stefan Noesen pushed it to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 16:01 of the second. Mercer made it 4-1 just 12 seconds later on a snap shot from the slot at 16:13.

Allen made eight saves in the second, including a right pad stop against Oliver Wahlstrom at the left post.

“It was 2-on-1 and I thought the guy was shooting the whole way, and he sort of waited, and it was just a little bit of desperation on my part,” Allen said.

Hischier scored a power-play goal on a tip-in from the slot at 13:32 of the third period for the 5-1 final.

NOTES: Bruins forward David Pastrnak had his four-game multipoint streak end but had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (12 points; five goals, seven assists). … The Devils inducted Jacques Lemaire into their Ring of Honor prior to the game. Lemaire is the winningest coach in Devils history (276-166-10 with 57 ties) and led the club to its first Stanley Cup in 1995. … Hischier had the 22nd three-point game of his career to tie Kevin Fiala and Meier for the second most by a Switzerland-born player behind Roman Josi (37 games).