The New Jersey Devils entered Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers on an emotional high after defeating the Florida Panthers in their Home Opener. While the crowd may not have received rally towels today, they were still just as rowdy as the Devils charged their way to a fourth victory in a row5-3.
Related: Jack Hughes scores twice to lift Devils from Oilers 5-3
Finally: the streak is over!
The elephant in the room entering the afternoon was that the Devils had not posted four straight wins since January 7-16, 2023… 1,006 days ago. They had gone an astonishing 0-11-2 after a three-match win streak since then, but the debilitating drought is finally over. The weight is off: They’ve won four games in a row, and it took just five games into the season to accomplish the feat. And the way they did it is even more remarkable: They defeated three of last season’s better teams, including Eastern And Western Conference Champions (Panthers, Oilers).
It goes without saying that stringing together long winning streaks sets the “good” teams apart from the “elite,” and that’s a big reason why things got tough for the Devils last season. If they can extend this streak or start some new ones along the way, they will be in a much better position.
When Brett Pesce was told about the streak, his eyes lit up in shock: “Wow, that’s a crazy statistic. I wish we would have figured that out last year, but yeah… we trust our structure. We trust our play no matter what. We’re not going to get upset.”
Criminal murder shines
Entering the game, the Devils had probably been at the box a lot more than they should have: their 4.25 shorthanded times per game was the fourth-worst mark in the NHL. However, their penalty had seen them through, allowing just one powerplay goal in 17 attempts.
Just 1:34 into the game, Dawson Mercer took a high stick and the Devils put Connor McDavid and the Oilers on the man advantage. They killed that, as well as a Jesper Bratt tripping penalty in the second.
In the third, Cody Glass left for high-sticking. Surely the McDavid-led power play couldn’t stay off the board forever? Wrong. Instead, the Devils scored a shorthanded goal of their own: Connor Brown, against his former team, no less.
The Devils were almost there another Short goal as Hischier was later robbed. Their goal difference on penalties this season? +1. They are now 19-for-20 (95%) with two shorties.
Jack Hughes = Still Jack Hughes
Jack Hughes got off to a pretty slow start this season – at least by his standards. He eventually bounced back by scoring his first goal of the season in Thursday’s home opener, a trademark Jack Hughes snipe over the goalkeeper’s shoulder.
He certainly had his legs again this afternoon, as team reporter Sam Kasan put it best about this goal: Jack had a “Moses-like ability to separate the Oilers’ and scored his second highlight goal in as many nights:
Jack is HIM. We are not answering questions at this time. pic.twitter.com/ZQnnDknt0M
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 18, 2025
He wasn’t done there yet; he found himself alone on Calvin Pickard and completely undressed him another tally that deserves an entry to ESPN’s Top 10.
Brown, who played with McDavid for two seasons, said after the game: “[Jack]’a total gamebreaker. His skill level is second to none in the league, I mean he is one of the top if not the most skilled. It’s incredible, the way he spins is unlike anyone else. You saw that second goal, it’s just ridiculous… it was fun to watch him.”
Come on
The Devils return to action on Tuesday in Toronto (7:00 PM EDT) as they look to make it five in a row.
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