Dawson Mercer and Max Willman scored in the first period and the New Jersey Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Sunday night.

Curtis Lazar and Michael McLeod also scored as the Devils won for the sixth time in eight games. Vitek Vanecek stopped 32 shots for his sixth win in eight starts.

Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato scored for Chicago, which lost for the fifth time in seven games. Arvid Soderblom finished with 36 saves.

The Devils held Chicago rookie Connor Bedard off the board, stopping the No. 1 draft pick’s goal-scoring streak at three games.

The Devils were without star centers Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. Hughes was recovering from an upper-body injury incurred against St. Louis on Friday and Hischier missed his fourth game after getting checked in the head by Buffalo’s Connor Clifton on Oct. 27.

The Blackhawks held a 20-minute players only meeting after the game to sort out their woes.

The Blackhawks are at Tampa Bay on Thursday night.