Hughes scores two goals as Devils beat Oilers

It’s the Devils’ first four-game winning streak since a stretch of five victories in a row from Jan. 7-16, 2023. That was two coaching changes ago when Lindy Ruff was behind the bench.

Hughes knifed his way through three Edmonton skaters before beating Calvin Pickard far side for his first goal eight minutes into the second period. He made another nasty move to deke and shoot the puck past Pickard for his second with seven and a half minutes left.

Jesper Bratt scored on the power play off a faceoff and did so with Sweden Olympic coach Sam Hallam in attendance scouting ahead of the New Year’s Eve roster deadline for Milan. Bratt is a good bet to make it as a four-time 20-goal scorer who set a career high with 88 points last season.

Connor Brown, who left in free agency after spending the past two years with the Oilers and helping them go on back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final, took advantage of a mistake by former teammate Evan Bouchard to score one shorthanded. Brown has three goals in his first five games with New Jersey.

All that came after the Devils did not have a shot for the first 11 1/2 minutes. Allen kept them in the game early and did not have to make a ton of quality chances, though he turned aside Leon Draisaitl and Boucher on a power play for two of his better saves.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice for Edmonton, and former Devils forward Curtis Lazar added another with 1.7 seconds left after Dawson Mercer had sealed it with an empty-netter.

Oilers: Visit Detroit on Sunday.

Devils: Visit Toronto on Tuesday night.

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