Devils 7, Wild 4
NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils erupted for their most goals this season, knocking off the Minnesota Wild 7-4 at the Prudential Center on Thursday.
New Jersey received two goals apiece from Adam Henrique, Devante Smith-Pelly and Mike Sislo, the first two goals of his career. Reid Boucher also scored and center Tyler Kennedy contributed three assists.
The Devils (34-30-7) ended a three-game home losing streak, getting outscored 13-2.
Minnesota (32-28-11) missed a valuable chance to gain ground on idle Colorado for the second wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Wild has 75 points, one behind the Avalanche.
Forwards Justin Fontaine, Nino Niederreiter and Mikko Koivu and defenseman Jared Spurgeon scored for the Wild.
New Jersey scored three times on just eight shots in the opening period, including two goals in the first 1:34 of the game.
Smith-Pelley scored just 43 seconds into the game off of a scramble in front of the Wild net. He has recorded points in four straight games.
Sislo tapped in his own rebound at 1:34 for the first NHL goal of his career to make it 2-0. Sislo was signed by New Jersey as an un-drafted free agent in 2011.
The Wild scored on the power play for the 14th time in their last 15 road games to cut the Devils lead to 2-1. Niederreiter scored off a deflection from center Mikael Granlund's blast from the right circle.
Boucher pushed the Devils to 3-1 just three minutes later, prompting Wild interim coach John Torchetti to make a goalie change. With 2:45 left in the first period, Devan Dubnyk was pulled after he flubbed a rebound that Boucher was able to poke in.
Dubnyk was 5-1-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .919 save-percentage in his seven previous starts.
Smith-Pelley pushed the Devils lead to 4-1 with his second goal of the game at 2:57 of the second. He took a nice feed from center Tyler Kennedy from behind the net as the Wild had difficulty clearing the puck.
Minnesota sliced the New Jersey lead in half on a power-play goal from Spurgeon midway through the second period.
The Devils responded with goals from Sislo -- his second of the night -- and Henrique 38 seconds apart for a 6-2 cushion. Left winger Joseph Blandisi assisted on both goals.
Henrique tied his career high with his 25th goal of the season, scored in the third period, sandwiched between goals from Fontaine and Koivu.
NOTES: Devils D Andy Greene skated in his 300th straight game. The streak, which began March 6, 2012 against the New York Rangers, is the Devils' sixth-longest games-played streak, and second-longest among Devils defensemen, behind Ken Daneyko's 388 straight games. ... Wild RW Jason Pominville skated with the team in practice, but missed his fourth straight game with a lower-back injury. ... The Devils wore their retro red, green and white uniforms from the 1980's in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.