The Devils earned it — the game and the expected-goals battle both.
S. Knight nearly stole this game—his 0.897 save percentage on 39 shots (+2.89 versus expected) was the margin between a decisive rout and a close contest. The Devils beat the Blackhawks 5-3 but had to work for it against elite goaltending.
The underlying numbers otherwise backed New Jersey's dominance. They controlled 60% of 5v5 expected goals (6.89–4.60) and held 56% of shot attempts (40–31 on goal). High-danger chances tilted 11–8 in their favor.
Both teams left goals on the table. The Devils underperformed their xG by 1.89, squandering quality chances. Chicago underperformed by 1.60—a wasted opportunity to stay closer on the scoreboard.
New Jersey's offensive edge came on the rush. They converted 5 of 34 rush chances into goals; Chicago managed 3 of 34. The Devils also crashed the net effectively, creating 13 rebound opportunities, though none found the back of the net. J. Allen (28/31 saves, 0.903 SV%) was solid but less dramatic than his counterpart.
Jack Hughes carried the offensive load for New Jersey—his wrist shot from the top of the circles (P3, 19:29) set the turning point early. Hughes finished with 2 goals and 2 assists in 22:12. N. Hischier added 2 assists in 21:25 for New Jersey's secondary production.
For Chicago, F. Nazar scored twice in 19:00, bringing aggression but not enough to overtake a team that executed better at even strength.
