Hischier's 4 points spark Devils to win against Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- Nico Hischier scored two goals, including his 100th in the NHL, and had two assists for the New Jersey Devils in a 5-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

It was the first four-point game for Hischier in 354 NHL games. He had not scored in his previous nine games and had one assist in his past seven.
"Just stick with it," said Hischier, the New Jersey captain. "Tried to still do something that could help the team win. …Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't. Definitely a goal I'll never forget [to reach 100], that's for sure. It's something that no one's going to take away from me. So I'm pretty happy about it."

Jack Hughes had two assists after missing the previous four games with an upper-body injury, and Dawson Mercer had a goal and an assist for the Devils (36-14-5). Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves.
Evgeni Malkin scored twice, and Dustin Tokarski made 38 saves for the Penguins (27-19-9), who have lost three of four. They lost 5-4 at the New York Islanders on Friday.
"I think it's a game of momentum," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "When you have it, you have to ride and you have to maximize the opportunity. When you lose it, you have to try to get it back. We've talked all year about handling the ebbs and flows of the game, doing a better job in those circumstances.
"It's the inconsistency of it. I don't think our details have been as good as they were there for the stretch when we climbed up to the top of the League. We've just gotten away from a lot of it. We haven't been as good. We have to be better."
Malkin put the Penguins ahead 1-0 on the power play at 3:33 of the first period, tapping in a pass from Rickard Rakell near the left post.

Mercer tied it 1-1 at 4:53. A rebound off an initial backhand from Mercer went past Hischier, battling with Pittsburgh forward Jeff Carter at the left post, to Mercer for another backhand from just outside the crease.
Dougie Hamilton gave the Devils a 2-1 lead on the power play at 3:47 of the second period, scoring with a one-timer after Hischier carried the puck around the back of the net and fed him in the right face-off circle.
Hischier scored short-handed for his 100th goal to make it 3-1 at 8:25. After tapping the puck past Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang at the opposite blue line for a 2-on-1, Hischier took a backhand pass from Yegor Sharangovich for a wrist shot to the left of the net.
Jesper Bratt extended the lead to 4-1 at 8:39 of the third period on a one-timer off a pass from Hughes.
"Felt fine. Probably tired," Hughes said. "Not my best, but you know, you miss a week or two and we had the All-Star break too, so really that's one goal in pretty much two or three weeks. That's a good start and it's a really big win for our team."

Malkin cut it to 4-2 at 14:43 with a wrist shot from the top of the slot.
"We have to find a way," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "We have to find consistency in our game. … You want to find it. Like I've said before, we're going to see what we're made of here down the stretch."
Hischier scored into an empty net with 2:04 remaining for the 5-2 final.
"He's continued to work hard through the stretch where points weren't coming," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said of Hischier. "Even in [a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday], opportunities were there but didn't go in. He's a guy we count on in every situation."
NOTES:Hughes extended his personal point streak to 10 games since Jan. 13 (20 points; nine goals, 11 assists). He's had at least two points in each of his past six games. … New Jersey defenseman Brendan Smith had four blocked shots in 18:58 of ice time after missing the previous four games with a lower-body injury. … Devils defenseman John Marino had one shot on goal and two blocked shots playing 24:28 in his first game against his former team. He had 64 points (10 goals, 54 assists) in 189 games for Pittsburgh in his first three NHL seasons before being traded to New Jersey on July 16. … Sharangovich had two assists. … The Penguins are 0-5-3 in their past eight games against Metropolitan Division opponents.