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Schwei's Devils Notebook: Little-Known Facts, Odd Stats And Strange Records

By John Schweibacher
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The New Jersey Devils went 1-1-1 on their three-game, three time-zone road trip to remain at NHL .500 with a 29-29-11 overall record.

The Devils beat the Coyotes, 4-1, Saturday night in Arizona. It was New Jersey's first win in five games played against the Coyotes in Glendale, Arizona after going 3-4-0 in seven contests played against them in Phoenix from 1996 through 2003.

Here are the Devils' four wins on the road against the Coyotes:

· 3/14/15: NJD 4 at Arz 1 (Schneider: 31 shots/30 saves)

· 2/12/03: NJD 3 at Phx 0 (Brodeur: 18 shots/18 saves)

· 3/14/01: NJD 3 at Phx 2 (Vanbiesbrouck: 19 shots/17 saves)

· 3/28/98: NJD 3 at Phx 0 (Brodeur: 26 shots/26 saves)

Patrik Elias, who missed Saturday night's game with back spasms, appeared in all three of the previous victories for New Jersey in Arizona, and all but one of the club's 11 previous road games against the Coyotes.

Jordin Tootoo scored one goal, assisted on another goal and fought B.J. Crombeen in the Devils' win at Arizona Saturday night.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the third "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" of Tootoo's NHL career, and the first by a Devils player since Ilya Kovalchuk had one goal, two assists and a fighting major (vs. Brayden Schenn) in New Jersey's 6-4 victory at Philadelphia on February 4, 2012.

Tootoo has racked up 77 fighting majors in his NHL career, but as Elias notes, this marked only the fifth time that he scored a goal in a game in which he fought an opponent.

Here are the last 10 "Gordie Howe Hat Tricks" for the New Jersey Devils:

· 3/14/15: Jordin Tootoo, NJD 4 at Arz 1 (1g-1a, fought Crombeen)

· 2/4/12: Ilya Kovalchuk, NJD 6 at Phi 4 (1g-2a, fought B. Schenn)

· 1/10/12: Adam Henrique, NJD 3 at Cgy 6 (1g-1a, fought Iginla)

· 2/28/09: David Clarkson, Fla 2 at NJD 7 (1g-1a, fought Tarnasky)

· 12/12/08: Jamie Langenbrunner, NYR 5 at NJD 8 (1g-1a, fought Callahan)

· 3/11/04: Turner Stevenson, Chi 4 at NJD 6 (1g-2a, fought Strudwick)

· 10/28/00: Turner Stevenson, NJD 9 at Pit 0 (1g-2a, fought Melichar)

· 10/29/99: Randy McKay, NJD 4 at Car 2 (1g-1a fought Pratt)

· 1/6/99: Randy McKay, NJD 5 at NYR 2 (2g-1a, fought Tamer)

· 11/23/96: Steve Thomas, NJD 3 at Was 4 (1g-2a, fought Tinordi)

The Devils lost to the Avalanche, 2-1, in the shootout last Thursday night in Colorado. New Jersey has never won a road game against the Avalanche/Quebec franchise that did not end in regulation:

· 3/12/15: NJD 1 at Col 2 (SO), Iginla shootout winner

· 1/16/14: NJD 1 at Col 2 (SO), Duchene shootout winner

· 11/30/03: NJD 1 at Col 1, (Tie) Rasmussen game-tying goal

· 11/23/93: NJD 1 at Que 1, (Tie) Driver game-tying goal

· 12/27/86: NJD 2 at Que 2, (Tie) Goulet game-tying goal

· 2/9/85: NJD 2 at Que 2,  (Tie) Goulet game-tying goal

The Devils lost to the Wild, 6-2, last Tuesday night in Minnesota. Scott Gomez scored his sixth goal of the season in the loss, giving him 477 points in his Devils career to surpass Scott Niedermayer for sole possession of fourth place on the team's all-time scoring list.

Gomez has six goals and 21 assists in 45 games played since officially re-joining New Jersey last December. Gomez's 27 points currently rank fourth among players in the first season of their return stint with the Devils:

· Petr Sykora: 2011-12 (21g-23a, 44pts) 82 games

· Claude Lemieux: 1999-00 (12g-21a, 38pts) 70 games

· Brian Rolston: 2008-09 (15g-17a, 32pts) 64 games

· Scott Gomez: 2014-15 (6g-21a, 27pts) 45 games

· Alexander Mogilny: 2005-06 (12g-13a, 25pts) 34 games

· Jason Arnott: 2010-11 (13g-11a, 24pts) 62 games

The six goals allowed by New Jersey in the loss were their most ever against the Wild, but not the most the Devils have ever given up in Minnesota.

On November 24, 1989, New Jersey lost to the Minnesota North Stars, 7-6, at the Met Center in Bloomington. Brian Bellows and a rookie named Mike Modano both scored twice for Minnesota in the win. Sean Burke allowed all seven goals in the loss.

The earlier versions of the Devils -- the Kansas City Scouts and Colorado Rockies -- also allowed seven or more goals once in games against the North Stars in Minnesota.

On March 23, 1980, the Rockies lost 7-1 to the North Stars. Steve Christoff, one month after winning a gold medal with Team USA at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, had a goal and two assists for Minnesota in the win. Hardy Astrom gave up all seven goals in the loss for coach Don Cherry and Colorado.

On January 28, 1976, the Scouts lost to the North Stars, 9-3. Pierre Jarry had the hat trick for Minnesota, who also got a goal from Glen Sather in the win. Bill McKenzie allowed all nine goals in the loss.

Schwei's Plus/Minus:

Plus: Andy Greene -- After going 70 games without scoring a goal, the Devils' defenseman now has three goals in his last 11 games and points in six of his last seven games.

Minus: Road Shootouts -- The Devils' 2-1 shootout loss at Colorado was their 16th consecutive on the road. New Jersey's last road shootout win came back on December 13, 2011, a 3-2 victory at Florida.

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