Timo Meier scores twice in Sharks' 5-2 win over Devils

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Sharks' leading scorer Timo Meier scored twice, James Reimer made 32 saves and San Jose defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Noah Gregor, Jacob Middleton and Erik Karlsson also scored for the Sharks, who have started their five-game road trip at 2-0.

Tomas Tatar and Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, and Mackenzie Blackwood had 26 saves.

Gregor opened the scoring at 4:26 of the first, beating Blackwood for his first goal of the season. Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic assisted.

Middleton made it 2-0 at 4:14 of the second period with his second goal this season, with assists going to Gregor and Alexander Barabanov.

Meier poured it on to make it 3-0 midway through the second on the power play, and Karlsson followed not long after to make it 4-0 San Jose.

Despite having forward Jack Hughes back in the lineup for the first time since the second game of the season, the Devils offered a minimal offensive attack against the Sharks until the third period.

Tatar ruined Reimer’s shutout bid with his fourth goal at 9:12 of the third. Pavel Zacha and Devils captain Nico Hischier assisted, the 100th career assist for the 22-year-old.

Bratt then made it a 4-2 game with his sixth goal at 12:49, and Andreas Johnsson had the lone assist.

Meier's second goal of the game (his team-leading 11th goal of the season) came with three minutes left in the third.

The Devils announced earlier Tuesday that the 20-year-old Hughes agreed to an eight-year, $64 million contract extension that starts next season after his three-year entry level pact expires. Hughes was the first overall pick by the Devils in the 2019 draft. He missed 17 games after suffering a shoulder injury on Oct. 19 against Seattle.

NOTES: Former Devils John Maclean and John Madden are assistant coaches with the Sharks. … The Sharks scratched forwards Scott Reedy and Jasper Weatherby plus defenseman Santeri Hatakka. … The Devils scratched defensemen Mason Geertsen and Colton White.

Up Next:

Devils: Visit the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

Sharks: Are scheduled to visit New York Islanders on Thursday night, though the Islanders' last two games have been postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak.