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 Yet Devils coach John Hynes wasn't ready to consider it more or less
meaningful than any other victory this season.
"It was a good win," said Hynes after the Devils cruised to a 4-2
victory at Prudential Center on Friday night for their seventh win
in nine games. "It's something we can continue to build off, not to
take away from any other wins we've had. They're all as equally
important."
While the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup five months ago, this is
hardly the same team.
Not only were defenseman Duncan Keith and right winger Marian Hossa
out with injuries, center Artem Anisimov departed during the second
period with a lower-body injury. The Blackhawks (7-6-1) have dropped
four of five and own a 1-5-0 record away from United Center.
Center and captain Jonathan Toews, however, refused to use the
absence of valuable players as an excuse for the recent run of poor
play.
"It happens. What are you going to do?" Toews said. "Other teams
deal with it. It's a physical game. Injuries happen. We can't just
sit back today and accept the outcome we saw today given the fact
we're missing a couple of our top guys. There's still a lot of
talent in here. There's still a lot of guys that can go out there
and do the job."
By the time Anisimov left the game, the outcome had long since been
decided.
The Devils (7-5-1) scored the game's first four goals and chased
Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford with three goals on 13 shots in
the first period.
Right wingers Lee Stempniak and Kyle Palmieri and center Travis
Zajac put the Devils ahead 3-0 before left winger Mike Cammalleri
increased the lead to 4-0 at 7:28 of the second period by beating
backup goaltender Scott Darling.
Right winger Patrick Kane scored late in the second period to make
it 4-1 and the Blackhawks had chance to cut the lead to two during a
power play early in the third period, but the Devils refused to
budge.
The win was somewhat more special for Palmieri, who lost to the
Blackhawks last season in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals as
a member of the Anaheim Ducks.
"When the schedule comes out, obviously it's with a different team,
but it's something you circle on the calendar," Palmieri said.
"They're just a good team. Any time you get to compete against the
defending Stanley Cup champions, it's a good test. Hopefully our
group grows from it."
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There was also a potential learning experience for the Devils during
the third period, as Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville opted to pull
Darling for an extra attacker with 6:42 remaining. The Devils were
able to hold off the Blackhawks for most of that 6-on-5 time,
although center Tanner Kero notched his first career goal with 1:26
remaining to make the score more respectable.
"That's a long time to play 6-on-5," Palmieri said. "You kind of
relate to five-minute major penalties. It's tough to withstand an
odd-man opportunity for that long. I thought we did a good job and
kept them to the outside for the most part."
The scuffling Blackhawks will need to find the recipe for road
success quickly; after playing their next three of four at home,
they embark on a six-game road trip while the circus occupies their
home arena.
"We just have to find a way to get better on the road," said
defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, whose first-period turnover led to
Stempniak's game-opening goal. "It's been five in a row we've lost
on the road. We've played decent at home but we have to find a way
to get better on the road."
NOTES: Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said it's possible C Artem
Anisimov (lower body) could play Sunday against Edmonton. ... The
Blackhawks were missing two key pieces in D Duncan Keith (knee) and
RW Marian Hossa (lower body). Quenneville said Hossa could return
Sunday when the Blackhawks host Edmonton. ... Blackhawks D Michal
Rozsival has not played since suffering a fractured ankle during the
2015 postseason. ... Blackhawks D David Rundblad was a healthy
scratch. ... Devils LW Jiri Tlusty returned after missing two games
with a shoulder injury. ... Devils LW Patrik Elias (knee) and LW
Tuomo Ruutu (foot) did not play. ... Devils LW Stefan Matteau and D
Eric Gelinas were healthy scratches.
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