OTTAWA, Ont. -The Devils make it 12 straight wins with a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. New Jersey is now 15-3-0 and haven't lost a game since Oct. 24.
"When you get on a run like this, a lot of good things that can happen," Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said post-game. "I thought tonight was a total team game. We got the production, we got a key shorthanded goal from Sharangovich, but all four lines were in on it. I thought our defense played well, and our goaltender made some big saves at key times."
The Devils saw two goals in the first period, Erik Haula's on the power play, and Nathan Bastian's in the final five minutes of the period. Haula shot from above the face-off circle and benefitted from Bastian screening in front. The power play goal is Haula's first goal as a Devil.
"We've worked on that play a lot and we've harped on trying to find the middle guy and I've had that look a couple times and finally it went in," Haula said about his goal.
For the second goal of the period, the Devils won a face-off and Miles Wood quickly threw a shot on net. Bastian went straight in and scored off the rebound. Michael McLeod picked up an assist on the goal after winning the draw.
Jesper Boqvist scored his second of the season three minutes into the second period to give the Devils a 3-0 lead. Boqvist crashed the net after Sharangovich's shot and Boqvist capitalized on Ottawa's goaltender being out of position as he fired a shot and scored. Boqvist's two goals of the year have been in the last four games. Following the Boqvist goal, the Senators pulled Forsberg and brought in Cam Talbot.
"They trust the system, they trust where they're going to be," said Ruff. "I thought Boqvist did a great job spinning off the defense, he's got one knee on the ice, he's just out there battling, net front guy, we get the puck to the net and all of the sudden, it's in the back of the net."
"We still had a couple good opportunities to do more but it's coming," said Boqvist post-game about his line finding more goals. "We just got to keep working hard and keep shooting."
Devils Victory Over Ottawa Makes It 12 Straight Wins | GAME STORY
New Jersey finishes its three-game Eastern Canada swing with a perfect 3-0-0 record.