National Hockey League
New Jersey 5, Minnesota 2
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 29, 2025
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Brian Pochmara, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Tyson Baker, Jesse Marquis
Attendance: 19265

Nico Hischier scored a hat trick to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn.

Paul Cotter and Tomas Tatar also scored for New Jersey (39-29-7, 85 points), which bounced back from a shutout loss one night earlier. Jesper Bratt had two assists.

Marcus Foligno had a goal and an assist for Minnesota (41-28-5, 87 points). Ryan Hartman also scored a goal.

Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom turned aside 22 of 24 shots to earn the win. Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson allowed five goals on 33 shots.

New Jersey needed only 29 seconds after the opening faceoff to grab a 1-0 lead.

Bratt carried the puck into the offensive zone and fired a wrist shot toward the net. Gustavsson stopped Bratt's shot but the rebound bounced directly to Hischier, who capitalized quickly by punching the puck into the open net.

New Jersey increased its lead to 2-0 with 14:14 remaining in the first period. Cotter scored on a sharp-angled shot from the bottom of the right circle.

The Wild cut the deficit to 2-1 with 3:29 to go in the first period. Jared Spurgeon blasted a shot from near the blue line and Foligno redirected it past Markstrom.

Hischier struck again to give the Devils a 3-1 advantage with 16:47 remaining in the third period. He zipped a shot through traffic and into the net.

Minnesota pulled within 3-2 on Hartman's goal with 14:38 to go in the third period. Markstrom stopped a long shot, but gave up a rebound in the crease. Hartman won the race to the loose puck and knocked it across the goal line.

Hischier completed his second career hat trick with a power-play goal with 5:10 left in the third period. He banked a shot off Gustavsson's leg for his second hat trick and his career-high 33rd goal of the season.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Minnesota
Nico Hischier 3 Points Marcus Foligno 2
Nico Hischier 3 Goals Marcus Foligno 1
Jesper Bratt 2 Assists Marcus Foligno 1
Nico Hischier 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jacob Markstrom .917 Save Percentage Filip Gustavsson .848
Jacob Markstrom 22 Saves Filip Gustavsson 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 33 5 1-1 2-2 11 27
Minnesota 24 2 0-2 0-1 9 21
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Wild have a W/L % of .548 after a win and .562 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Devils have a W/L % of .421 after a win and .622 after a loss.