Allen makes 31 saves, Devils shut out Oilers

EDMONTON -- Jake Allen made 31 saves for the New Jersey Devils in a 3-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Monday.

It was Allen's second shutout of the season and his 26th in the NHL.

“I tried to take a page out of [Jacob Markstrom’s] last two games. He played a lot more calm than previous games and he looked great in his last two games,” Allen said. “I tried to take a page out of that book, and they have a good team over there. They have a team that you have to be a bit more patient, a little bit more deep and we found a way to get it done."

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist for the Devils (8-5-2), who have won three of four but were coming off a 3-0 loss at the Calgary Flames on Friday.

“We won on the back of some incredible goaltending. Jake gives us a chance to get going in the game, so credit goes to him certainly,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I thought we had a bit of a bend-but-don’t-break mentality throughout, and I thought the third period was our best period in terms of defending less and pressing and extending our lead.

“We had some good effort from our guys throughout the (Western Canada) trip. You talk about the two shutouts (also a 6-0 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 30), but we were five minutes away from getting one in Calgary as well. There’s things we have to do a lot better, no question, but we’re learning how to win these types of games and learning how to defend a lead.”

Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for the Oilers (6-6-1), who were coming off a 4-2 win at the Flames on Sunday.

"Overall, it was a pretty good game considering it was a back-to-back,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “So often you win a game and you’re so happy, you lose and you are negative and thinking of all the things that went wrong. There were mistakes, things we could have done better -- we lost the special teams battle again, had opportunities to score, didn’t capitalize. Not saying we should have won. We didn’t dominate, but it could have been a lot closer game.”

Stefan Noesen put the Devils ahead 1-0 at 5:18 of the first period, scoring with a snap shot from the slot that deflected in off the right post.

The goal came 3:14 after Adam Henrique hit the crossbar for the Oilers.

“The play developed well. I made the move I wanted to and just got too much of it there,” Henrique said. “We have to find a way to find an ugly one at some point there. I thought we had good pressure, good opportunities to do that, but we just couldn’t get that first one.”

Bratt made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 16:34 of the second period, burying a one-timer five-hole from the slot off a pass from Nico Hischier.

Timo Meier extended the lead to 3-0 at 9:25 of the third period. He gloved down a lead pass from Dawson Mercer, skated in on a breakaway, and made a move to his backhand before tucking a shot past the left pad of Pickard.

“I thought we had a little bit of a slow start, but we reacted quick. We got an important goal early and then some key saves by Jake. He played unbelievable, and that’s what we need,” Meier said. “Then the power play comes out and does our job, well-executed goal there, and we’re in full control of the game.

“I thought, overall, the whole game we did a good job even though sometimes they had us hemmed in our zone. We didn’t crack and we stayed solid and that’s what got us the win tonight.”

NOTES: Allen became the third goalie in Devils history to get multiple shutouts in his first five games of a season, joining Keith Kinkaid (two in 2018-19) and Scott Clemmensen (two in 2003-04). ... Bratt has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past eight games.