Sabres - The Buffalo News
National Hockey League
New Jersey 3, Vegas 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Monday, April 18, 2022
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Referees: Chris Lee, Francois St. Laurent
Linesmen: Brandon Gawryletz, Ben O'Quinn
Attendance: 18077

Andrew Hammond made a season-high 42 saves and the New Jersey Devils scored twice in a span of 4:43 in the third period and held on for a 3-2 victory over the slumping Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night in Las Vegas.

Hammond picked up his first win as a Devil after entering the game with a 5.95 goals-against average in his first three appearances with the team.

Andreas Johnsson and Jesper Boqvist scored in the opening 7:57 of the third as the Devils (27-42-7, 61 points) secured a 3-1-1 road trip.

Nathan Bastian also scored as New Jersey survived numerous odd-man rushes by Vegas thanks to Hammond, who earned his fourth win of the season.

Keegan Kolesar scored in the second period and Chandler Stephenson scored with 1:14 left in the third for Vegas (41-31-5, 87 points), which is 2-3-1 in its past six games following a 7-2-0 run. The Golden Knights remained three points behind the idle Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division and are four points behind the Nashville Predators and the Dallas Stars for the Western Conference's two wild-card spots.

Vegas goalie Robin Lehner made 25 saves.

After Hammond lost his shutout bid when Kolesar's fluky goal banked off defenseman P.K. Subban's stick with 2:23 remaining in the second period, the Devils were opportunistic in regaining the lead.

Following an unsuccessful Vegas clearing attempt, Kevin Bahl ripped a shot from the blue line that Lehner batted down. Lehner could not handle the rebound and stopped Bastian but Johnsson crashed the left side of the crease and flipped the rebound into the net for his 13th goal at 3:14 of the third.

Boqvist then intercepted Max Pacioretty's pass in the neutral zone and quickly sped into the offensive zone. Boqvist went around defenseman Alex Pietrangelo in the right faceoff circle and flipped the puck over Lehner while being checked by Stephenson.

After Boqvist's ninth goal, the Devils sweated out the final minutes when Vegas pulled Lehner and got within 3-2 when Stephenson put a rebound into the open net after Hammond's diving save on Pacioretty.

After Bastian easily swept a rebound by Lehner 6:54 into the game, the Golden Knights were unable to score on numerous breakaways before finally breaking through when New Jersey defenseman P.K. Subban's skate deflected Kolesar's pass over Hammond's stick.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Vegas
Nathan Bastian 2 Points Keegan Kolesar 1
Nathan Bastian 1 Goals Keegan Kolesar 1
Nathan Bastian 1 Assists Jonathan Marchessault 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Andrew Hammond .955 Save Percentage Robin Lehner .893
Andrew Hammond 42 Saves Robin Lehner 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 28 3 0-1 1-1 2 29
Vegas 44 2 0-1 1-1 2 30
Upcoming Games
  • Vegas will play their next game at home against Washington. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .537 after a win and .528 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Devils have a W/L % of .308 after a win and .380 after a loss.