"Devils' Victory: Nico Hischier Scores Impressive Natural Hat Trick in NHL Recap"

Nico Hischier's hat trick in the second period led the New Jersey Devils to a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday in Newark, N.J.

This was Hischier's first hat trick in his eight seasons in the NHL, as the forward ended his 10-game goal drought in impressive fashion. Despite his recent scoring slump, Hischier still leads the Devils with 13 goals this season.

Erik Haula and Justin Dowling also scored for New Jersey, with Johnathan Kovacevic contributing two assists. Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves for the win. The Devils are currently on a three-game winning streak and have a record of 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.

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Filip Forsberg and Zachary L'Heureux scored for the Predators, who have a record of 2-3-2 in their last seven games. Juuse Saros made 26 saves before being replaced by Scott Wedgewood in the third period. Wedgewood stopped all 15 shots he faced in relief.

Lightning 8, Avalanche 2

Anthony Cirelli scored in his sixth consecutive game and Brandon Hagel had four of his career-high five assists in Tampa Bay's five-goal first period as the Lightning dominated the visiting Colorado Avalanche.

Cirelli set the record for the longest goal streak in the NHL this season with a quick goal from the slot with just 14 seconds left in the first period. His ninth goal of the season leaves him just two games away from matching the Tampa Bay record for most consecutive games with a goal. Hagel set a franchise record with four assists in the first period and added another in the second.

For Colorado, Ivan Ivan scored twice as the team lost for just the second time in eight games (6-2-0). Goalie Justus Annunen was replaced in the first period after allowing three goals, but later returned to surrender five total goals on 16 shots. Alexandar Georgiev stopped 14 shots in relief.

Blues 5, Rangers 2

Brayden Schenn scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period as the St. Louis Blues pulled away for a victory over the struggling New York Rangers.

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The Blues earned the win just one day after firing coach Drew Bannister and replacing him with Jim Montgomery. Montgomery was recently fired from the Boston Bruins and signed a five-year deal with St. Louis on Sunday. Schenn scored his fourth goal of the season just 72 seconds into the final period, while Zack Bolduc recorded his first career two-goal game.

Will Cuylle also scored twice for the Rangers, but it wasn't enough to prevent their third consecutive loss. New York, who played without Chris Kreider due to an upper-body injury, now has a record of 7-7-0 since their six-game points streak to start the season (5-0-1).

Jets 4, Wild 1

Alex Iafallo scored two goals to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a win over the Minnesota Wild in Saint Paul, Minn.

Nino Niederreiter and Adam Lowry also scored for Winnipeg, who currently have the best record in the NHL with 18 wins in 22 games this season. Neal Pionk contributed two assists and Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 43 saves to improve his record to 15-2-0 this season.

Jake Middleton scored the lone goal for the Wild, while goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 28 saves but dropped to 9-4-3.

Kraken 3, Ducks 2

Shane Wright returned to the lineup and had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken defeated the Anaheim Ducks in the first game of a home-and-home series between the Pacific Division rivals.

Andre Burakovsky and Brandon Montour also scored for the Kraken, who had lost their previous five road games dating back to late October. Goaltender Joey Daccord made 21 saves to secure his sixth victory in the last seven starts.

Trevor Zegras and Frank Vatrano scored for the Ducks, who have now lost two consecutive games (0-1-1). Troy Terry recorded two assists, while Lukas Dostal made 25 saves.

Hurricanes 6, Stars 4

Martin Necas scored