NEWARK, New Jersey — Egor Charangovich and Dawson Mercer scored in the second period, and the New Jersey Devils held on for their third straight win, 2-1 over the San Jose Sharks at Prudential Center on Saturday.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves for the Devils (3-2-0), who won three straight games for the first time since Dec. 29, 2021-Jan. 2, 2022.
“We want to build our game around our speed,” Mercer said. “It’s to our advantage…stealing and creating those chances. We never strayed from our game, and I think that paid off in the end.”
Kevin Labanc scored for the Sharks (1-6-0), who will complete a four-game road trip with the Flyers on Sunday. Kaapo Kahkonen made 34 saves.
“They had a bit of a push in the second and we kind of weathered the storm,” Kahkonen said. “We had a good effort there at the end, but we just couldn’t get one.”
Sharangovich gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 13:21 of the second period. Following a turnover along the boards by the San Jose defender Marc-Edouard VlasicSharangovich skated into the slot, got rid of his forehand and scored on a backhand.
“What a great goal,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “You watch the goal, you watch the movement. That’s what you want to see when you have that opportunity. They had a big turnover, and we took advantage of it.”
Video: SJS@NJD: Sharangovich steals puck home
Mercer made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 15:43, scoring on his own rebound in the low slot after Nico Hischier passed behind the net.
“I found this ice open in the middle and Nico is a playmaker,” Mercer said. “He found me under the goal line, and lucky enough I had the chance to bounce back and had another chance. It was a great feeling.”
Ruff said he likes what he’s seen so far this season at Mercer, who has three points (two goals, one assist) in five games after having 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) in 82 games as a rookie in 2021-22.
“I think his game on the wall, his battles around the net, behind the net, has increased and he’s creating on his own,” Ruff said. “On his goal he stayed with it, found a tight hole in front of the net. It was a great play for him to find his own rebound. That’s the level we need to be at.”
Video: SJS@NJD: Mercer scores PPG on second down
Labanc scored 32 seconds later to make it 2-1 at 16:15. He skated down the left wing on a 2-on-1 and scored on a wrist shot from the left circle.
“We kind of gave up two runs,” Labanc said. “We had a good 15 minutes and then the second, third period, we kind of let the game go. We didn’t create as many chances as we would like, but this game is behind us. We have to prepare for Philadelphia and make sure everyone is ready, we can end this road trip on a very high note.
The Sharks had a chance to tie the game late in regulation with Kahkonen pulled for the extra striker, but Erik Karlsson hit the post with 2:00 remaining, and Blackwood denied Timo Meier on a slapshot with 12 seconds to go.
“He made the big saves when we needed him and, again tonight, the last few minutes,” Ruff said. “He found some pucks in traffic that were the difference for us to win this game.”
REMARKS: Devils forward Jesper Bratt got the secondary assist on Mercer’s goal, his eighth in five games this season. … The Sharks have been 2 for 3 shorthanded and are 22 for 23 this season. … Blackwood has allowed four goals on 59 shots over the past three games after allowing four goals on 24 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 13. … Labanc, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, played his minor hockey with the New Jersey Rockets at the Prudential Center before joining USA Hockey’s national team development program. “It’s a pretty special building to score a goal for me,” he said.
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