Mercer Scores First NHL Goal as Devils Defeat Kraken | GAME STORY

Rookie Dawson Mercer picked up his first-career NHL goal in his second-career NHL game to help lift the Devils in a 4-2 victory against the Seattle Kraken Tuesday night at Prudential Center.
Defenseman Damon Severson, playing his first game of the season, scored his first goal of the year, forward Jimmy Vesey picked up his first goal in a Devils uniform and forward Pavel Zacha added an empty-netter.
The Seattle goal was scored by Riley Sheahan.

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The Devils continue their homestand with their first-divisional games against the Washington Capitals this Thursday coming up. The game can be seen on MSG+ and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
Tickets are still available. Get them here. 
Here are some other observations from the game...
* The Devils may have won the battle, but the war is still in doubt with the uncertainty surrounding center Jack Hughes. The Devils 20-year-old cornerstone was hurt during the first period and did not return in the game. He is
day-to-day and will be further evaluated Wednesday
.
Hughes was checked into the corner by Seattle's Jeremy Lauzon. Hughes skates left the ice and he landed hard on his shoulder and head. He skated to the bench doubled over and immediately went to the locker room.
In the second period, after getting into it with Severson, Lauzon was grabbed by forward Mason Geertsen, playing in his first NHL game, and the two exchanged some punches while the linesmen tried to interrupt.
* Mercer picked up his NHL goal on a beautiful sequence of action. It started with an incredible 50-plus-foot breakout pass from Ryan Graves, who had two assists and a plus-3 in the game, to launch a 2-on-1 for Tomas Tatar and Mercer. Then Tatar made a cross-ice feed to Mercer at the opposite side for the one-time snap shot tally. Perfect breakout, perfect setup, perfect finish.
"When the D went down and I saw the saucer pass coming I tried to get it off as quick as possible," Mercer said. "I'm pretty happy I got that one out of the way.
"I took it all in. I know the guys were really happy. I was celebrating in the corner. The fans got up, the building erupted. It was a great feeling for me."
More impressive than the goal was his blocking a shot with his chest in the final minutes of the game to help preserve the victory. That is sacrifice.
* The Kraken have struggled in the early going this season against east-west plays. They haven't gotten their sticks in lanes or taken away cross-ice passes, whether it's on odd-man rushes or just normal in-zone play. That issue came into play on the Devils' third goal of the game. Colton White sent a pass from the near point across to Andreas Johnsson at the far circle across to Vesey in the slot. It was a tic-tac-toe goal, and the Kraken were nothing more than tennis spectators.
"If you can move it east-west in front of a goalie and get him to open up there are a lot more holes," Ruff said. "Goalies are pretty good if they face the shot they're looking at but if you get them to move then you've got a better chance to score."
* Welcome back Severson. The Devils' defenseman picked up his first goal of the season, and a plus-3, in his first period of the season, from a peculiar location. Hughes was skating circles in the offensive zone and carried the puck to the blue line, so Severson pinched up on the play and cut to the net. Hughes put a shot on goal and Severson, providing the net front, buried the rebound.
"It was a great play by Jack finding me backdoor," Severson said. "It was a little bit of a shot-pass. I deflected it and picked up my own rebound. Great vision from him."
* With goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood out of the lineup indefinitely, and at least for the five-game homestand, the crease belongs to Jonathan Bernier. And judging from his play the past two games, he has no plans of surrendering it anytime soon.
"He's given us a chance to win," Ruff said. "We've won both games and he's made the saves at crucial times. I've liked his game."
Bernier made a few marvelous saves, including stopping a breakaway on Jordan Eberle and a scramble save to locate a puck in his crease off a carom later in the game before it could be converted. His biggest pair of saves though came with New Jersey leading 2-1 when he stopped Jamie Oleksiak on an open shot in the slot and followed a second later by denying Joonas Donskoi at the crease. That kept it a 2-1 Devils lead and allowed team to build on said lead.
* It was a rather violent game between these two teams. Things started just 2:27 into the first period when Brandon Tanev delivered a high cross to Mike McLeod, who was less than pleased. McLeod challenged and the two dropped the gloves.
The situation really escalated after Lauzon's hit on Hughes (read above). Late in the second period Jonas Siegenthaler delivered a hard hit to Morgan Geekie into the boards. Ryan Donato responded with a challenge and those two dropped the gloves. There were also a few post-whistle skirmishes.
* Speaking of Siegenthaler, he had one of his better games with the Devils. As New Jersey was killing two consecutive penalties for 3:47 minutes, Siegenthaler blocked a shot and cleared the puck. On an ensuing 5-on-3 faceoff with his team down two men, Siegenthaler won a physical battle to collect the puck and clear. And he used his body to throw the above check into Geekie. That's what you want to see from him, using that big frame to make a difference, which includes four blocked shots.
"I really think he's played very well for the last two games," Ruff said. "He did a good job on the kill, moved the puck well, physical, ended up in a scrap. His game, for me, is a long ways from what I saw last year."