Devils top Jets in shootout, get second straight road victory

WINNIPEG -- The New Jersey Devils extended their point streak to four games with a 2-1 shootout win against the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Tuesday.

Nico Hischier scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves for the Devils (4-5-4), who are 2-0-2 in their past four games and have begun a five-game road trip with their first two road wins of the season (2-3-0). They defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 on Saturday.
"I think we knew in the locker room if we keep playing the way we can play we'll get those wins, and now they're coming," Hischier said. "It's a big one on the road for us, but we've got a couple more road games ahead, so we've got to come out the same way like we did in the first period today."
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Jets highlights]
Andrew Copp scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves for the Jets (8-7-1).
"I feel we hold ourselves to a pretty high standard and didn't play all the way up to that," Copp said. "It's not like we were off by a lot. We did some good things. Obviously played pretty well defensively. [Hellebuyck] was great again. Some good things, but we've got to keep building."
Hischier made it 1-0 on a backhand at 4:44 of the first period, sliding a loose puck past Hellebuyck.
"We know it's not always going to be easy," Hischier said. "[There's] nice goals. Sometimes you get those dirty goals, too, and they feel even better."
Copp tied it 1-1 at 8:38 of the second period, deflecting Josh Morrissey's shot from the left point.
"I thought we got better as the game went on," Jets coach Paul Maurice said of Winnipeg, which outshot New Jersey 25-20 after the first period. "I liked our third better than our second better than our first, so I thought we had a bit of a push there and had some chances."

Nikita Gusev and Jesper Boqvist scored for the Devils in the shootout.
"[Gusev] scores all the time in practice," New Jersey coach John Hynes said. "Boqvist had some great numbers in Sweden, but most importantly he's a guy that has been excellent in practice. In our practice numbers, he's at like 44 percent. … It wasn't on a whim. We knew these two guys were good in the shootout, so they got the first two shots."
Jets center Bryan Little left the game at 7:27 of the third after being hit in the side of the head with a Nikolaj Ehlers slap shot from the point. Little was bleeding before being helped off the ice and going to the dressing room.

Maurice had no update on Little's status following the game, saying he believes the puck hit Little in the left ear.
It was Little's seventh game back after he missed the first nine of the season following a concussion sustained against the Minnesota Wild in Winnipeg's preseason finale.

They said it

"I think the group is still a little bit frustrated about the way we started (the season), but we've turned a new leaf here with the way we've played and the way we know we want to play. The results have been coming for us, which is great." -- Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood
"Nothing ever comes easy for us. That's our team. So we've got to battle for every inch and stay in the fight. Stay with it. All easier said than done … for the most part it's been us fighting through it, trying to salvage a result." -- Jets captain Blake Wheeler

Need to know

Devils forward Taylor Hall had an assist to extend his point streak to six games (eight points; one goal, seven assists). … Hischier extended his point streak to four games (five points; two goals, three assists). … Jets defenseman Nathan Beaulieu made his season debut, finishing with three hits in 18:46.

What's next

Devils: At the Calgary Flames on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)
Jets: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Friday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TSN3, SNP, NHL.TV)