The Devils took down a nasty Blackhawk team Wednesday night giving them their fourth in a row. The win kept them just barely ahead of the Panthers who keep accelerating.
Captain Scott Neidermayer on the Hawks:
"We knew they would play us physical. We were prepared to get banged up, but we made sure to dish it out a bit ourselves."
The Devils won the close first period scoring twice on 12 shots. The Hawks kept pace getting 9 of their own but Potvin carried out his orders and shut the door.
The game got rough in the second. The players spent the period trading elbows, high sticks and obscenities. Neither team created many scoring chances.
Staring the third on the power play Simon Gagne scored his 29th goal of the season 39 seconds in. Nine minutes later he was crushed into the boards and suffered bruised ribs. He left the game and was re-evaluated today. The Devils scored late in the third to take the affair 4 to 1.
The Devils are off until Sunday night when they take on the Hurricane in the swamp. Potvin is expected to get back to back starts.