NEWARK, N.J. _ Kyle Palmieri is setting quite a blistering pace. The Devils winger is currently on track for 164 goals this season.
Palmieri scored twice to help lead the Devils past the Washington Capitals, 6-0, on Thursday night in the Prudential Center opener, becoming the first player in New Jersey club history to score two goals in each of the first two games of the season.
Marcus Johansson, Blake Coleman, Jean-Sebastien Dea and Brian Boyle also scored for the Devils, who dominated the Capitals offensively, outshooting them 36-21. The final score could have been even more lopsided had Pavel Zacha or Taylor Hall broken through on any one of the multiple breakaways Phoenix Copley turned aside.
The Devils were the aggressors from start to finish. Palmieri found himself in the crease with a loose puck at his feet and capitalized 7:02 into the game to put the Devils on the board. With 1:27 left in the first, Will Butcher set him up on the power play to make it 2-0.
Johansson scored early in the third and Coleman put the game away with a sharp-angle goal at 5:49 in the third.
You could say the onslaught began early in the game but things went downhill for the Capitals quickly in the third period when the Devils' fourth line scored twice. At the 11:35 mark, the fourth line gave the Devils an insurance goal when Brian Boyle set up Dea. Boyle then scored a few minutes later to make it 6-0.
The Devils have faced two tough challenges to start the season, playing a playoff hopeful with an MVP candidate in the Edmonton Oilers overseas and coming home to face the defending Stanley Cup champs. So far, the Devils have aced both tests. It's a small sample size, but a good start nonetheless.
The last time Johansson scored a goal the calendar hadn't even changed. The second-line winger made it 3-0 for his current team with a goal against his former team 2:54 into the second period, his first since Dec. 29. The Devils missed his presence on the power play last season and so far this year, he's delivered. The second unit generated momentum on a Jakub Vrana minor and Johansson scored on a point shot a few seconds after the power play expired.
Goalie Keith Kinkaid had his work cut out for him, almost quite literally since his skaters cut it all out for him. With the Devils playing most of the game in the Capitals' end Kinkaid was left to face just 21 shots, all of which he stopped for his first shutout of the season and the fifth of his career.
One night after facing the Vegas Golden Knights at home, Copley got the nod in net for the Caps. He made 30 saves in his first appearance of the season.
