Devils' 19-second burst in the second period puts Islanders away at UBS Arena

A tie game disappeared almost immediately

The Devils had already established control with Luke Evangelista's first goal at 6:13 of the opening period, a wrist shot set up by Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes. That gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead after one and set the table for the sequence that decided the night.

Then came the stretch the Islanders could not recover from. Arseny Gritsyuk scored 42 seconds into the second period, finishing a play created by Evan Rodrigues for a 2-0 edge. Before New York could settle, Evangelista struck again at 1:01, this time with Nico Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler on the assists. In 19 seconds, a manageable one-goal deficit became a 3-0 hole.

That burst mattered because the rest of the evening never really tilted back. Dougie Hamilton added New Jersey's fourth goal at 14:48 of the second, with Siegenthaler and Rodrigues each collecting another assist. By the time Simon Holmstrom answered at 15:21 of the third period, the game was well past the point where a single Islanders push could change its direction.

New Jersey paired finishing with control

The final numbers underline how firmly the Devils handled the game. They outshot the Islanders 26-15, a margin that helps explain why Ilya Sorokin faced a heavier night than Jake Allen. Sorokin stopped 22 of 26 shots for an .846 save percentage, while Allen turned aside 14 of 15 for a .933 mark.

Special teams widened the gap. New Jersey converted once on two power-play opportunities, while New York went 0-for-4 with the extra man. In a game that finished with a three-goal spread, that difference was decisive. The Islanders had enough power-play time to make the score more interesting, but they could not solve Allen often enough.

The faceoff split was nearly even, with New York holding a slight 51.5 to 48.5 per cent edge, so this was not a night defined by one team monopolizing puck drops. Instead, it was shaped by what happened once play opened up. The Devils made more of their chances, and the Islanders never found enough offence at five-on-five or on the power play to pressure the result.

There were details New Jersey will still want cleaned up. Both teams were charged with 20 giveaways, and the Devils took four penalties. A comfortable road win can hide those problems, but they are the kinds of numbers that can become more costly against a sharper finishing opponent. For one night, though, the Islanders did not make them pay.

Evangelista's finish, and an Islanders warning sign

Evangelista was the clearest attacking difference-maker. He scored twice on three shots and supplied the game's first separation point as well as the early second-period dagger. Rodrigues and Siegenthaler each added two assists, giving New Jersey support beyond the headline scorers, and Hamilton's second-period goal made sure the Islanders never had a realistic path back.

The Devils also got useful contributions across the scoring sheet. Gritsyuk's goal early in the second period was one of the night's pivotal moments, while Hischier, Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes all factored into the attack with assists. When a team produces four goals and spreads the playmaking around like that, defending it becomes much harder.

For the Islanders, Holmstrom's third-period goal prevented the shutout and came with help from Kyle Palmieri and Bo Horvat. But one late finish could not disguise the larger issue: 15 shots and no power-play goals usually leave almost no margin. New York blocked 17 shots and delivered 15 hits, so there was defensive commitment in the numbers, but too much of the game was spent chasing and too little was spent creating sustained offence.

Our take: this was a sharp, efficient Devils win built on timing as much as volume. The 19-second scoring burst was the night's defining swing, but the fuller story is that New Jersey backed it up with better finishing, stronger goaltending and a cleaner special-teams result. The Islanders' priorities are easier to spot. They need more attack overall and much more from a power play that had four chances and produced nothing. The Devils, meanwhile, can take the win and still note the loose puck management and penalty count. On this night, those flaws stayed in the background because the goals arrived fast and the response from New York never did.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 6:13

   Luke Evangelista Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Jack Hughes (1), Luke Hughes (1)

2. 2nd · 0:42

   Arseny Gritsyuk Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Evan Rodrigues (1)

3. 2nd · 1:01

   Luke Evangelista Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Nico Hischier (1), Jonas Siegenthaler (1)

4. 2nd · 14:48

   Dougie Hamilton Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Jonas Siegenthaler (2), Evan Rodrigues (2)

5. 3rd · 15:21

   Simon Holmstrom Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Kyle Palmieri (2), Bo Horvat (2)