Hischier scores 1st NHL hat trick in 2nd, Devils defeat Predators

Nico Hischier scored his first NHL hat trick, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Nashville Predators 5-2 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday.

Hischier, who ended a 10-game goal drought, scored all three goals in the second period for a natural hat trick to give the Devils a 4-1 lead.

“It feels good,” said Hischier, the New Jersey captain. “I’ve had a couple two-goal games in my career. Somehow, yeah, that last one went in and I don’t know how. ... Every game, we have a plan. If you execute it, gives ourselves a chance to win a hockey game. The plan switches, depends who you’re playing.”

Erik Haula and Justin Dowling also scored, and Johnathan Kovacevic had two assists for the Devils (15-7-2), who have won three straight and eight of 10. Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves.

Filip Forsberg and Zachary L'Heureux scored, and Juuse Saros was pulled after allowing four goals on 30 shots in the first two periods for the Predators (7-12-3), who have lost five of seven. Scott Wedgewood stopped all 15 shots he faced in relief.

“There’s a lot to improve, I think,” Nashville captain Roman Josi said. “I thought tonight, they were faster, they won more battles, they were just the better team for 60 minutes. We had a little bit of a push in the third, but it was way too late.

“We’ve been talking about it -- we have one good game then fall back to a bad game. We’re not in a position to do that. We need some consistency.”

The Predators scored on their first shot on goal before the Devils scored the next four.

Forsberg put Nashville ahead 1-0 at 5:08 of the first period on a wrist shot from along the right boards.

Haula tied it 1-1 at 11:29, tapping in a pass from Kovacevic at the left post on a 3-on-2.

Hischier gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead at 3:52 of the second, skating around Marc Del Gaizo and above the crease for a wrist shot through Saros’ five-hole.

He then made it 3-1 on the power play at 10:01 with a wrist shot from the right circle, and extended it to 4-1 at 16:57 with a snap shot on a breakaway, again through the five-hole.

Hischier leads the Devils with 13 goals this season.

“Just happy for him,” Haula said. “He’s just such an important player for us, obviously. Eight years and first hat trick. You’d think he has five or six of them.”

L’Heureux cut it to 4-2 at 7:39 of the third period with a backhand on a breakaway. The 21-year-old rookie forward was selected in the first round (No. 27) of the 2021 NHL Draft.

“He’s been great,” Josi said of L’Heureux, who scored his second NHL goal. “He has a lot of energy. Obviously, scores a nice goal. And just in general, gets on the forecheck, he gets pucks back, he’s hard to play against. So, he’s been great.”

L’Heureux later left at 12:17 after taking a cross-check to the face from Meier, who received a five-minute major penalty.

Nashville had one shot on goal on the power play. Dowling scored an empty-net goal eight seconds after it expired at 17:25 for the 5-2 final.

“It was outstanding,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Obviously, hate the penalty and the fact that we’re in that position, but the guys had to dig in and find a way. I thought we killed it wonderfully too. I mean, it wasn’t like we were scrambling or anything.

“I thought we were well in control. We were just calm, went out and got it done.”

NOTES: Hischier is the fourth Devils player to score a natural hat trick in the past 15 years, joining Jack Hughes (Nov. 26, 2022), Brian Boyle (Nov. 5, 2018) and Michael Cammalleri (Nov. 6, 2016). He is the fourth player to score a natural hat trick in one period for the Devils/Kansas City Scouts/Colorado Rockies franchise, joining Peter Stastny (second period; Dec. 29, 1991), Stephane Richer (second period; March 29, 1993) and Brian Gionta (third period; Oct. 12, 2006). ... Nashville was 0-for-5 on the power play after scoring on three of eight chances over the previous three games. ... The Predators traded forward Philip Tomasino to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.