NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel has no explanation for his team's recent road success.
He isn't complaining about it, either.
Evander Kane scored a breakaway goal in the second period, and Andrew Ladd added some insurance in the third to lift the Jets over the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Sunday.
Zach Bogosian scored in the first period, and Grant Clitsome had a power-play goal in the second for the Jets, who have won three of the first four of a five-game trip that concludes Tuesday in New York against the Rangers. Ondrej Pavelec made 26 saves.
"Getting a road win in this building is never easy," said Noel, whose team won in New Jersey for the first time since 2009. "It's really unbelievable. This team is resilient. They've faced adversity all year.
"There's a quiet confidence right now. For some reason, we're finding ways to score. I think it's part of maturity and growth. We went through a lot of struggles on the road last year. We understand now what it takes to win on the road."
After trailing 2-1 after the first period, the Jets (8-9-1) scored three unanswered goals.
Clitsome scored to tie the game, and Kane and Ladd added goals to seal the win.
Kane's goal was the backbreaker for the Devils.
"We made a poor decision at the blue line with the puck," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said of Adam Larsson's cross-ice pass intercepted by Kane. "He's perhaps the fastest guy in the league. If you give him a step, you're not going to stop him."
Devils goalie Johan Hedberg came way out of the crease and dived to try to stop Kane, but Kane backhanded his seventh of the season with 2:12 left.
"After I deflected it, I just took off," Kane said. "I knew that they couldn't get to me. It was just a matter of me getting the goal. I guess I made a nice play."
Ladd added his 10th goal of the season in the third period to ice the victory.
"We're playing better now and getting goals at key times," Ladd said. "Confidence is a big thing. We got the one goal on the power play and that just got things rolling.
"We went through a little tough stretch before this trip. Maybe we need a few more road games. Our guys have learned out to step up and finish things off like this one."
Bogosian got the Jets going with his first goal of the season.
"I think this win was huge," Bogosian said. "Any time you come up big on the road and get a win against a good team, it's big, especially in a shortened season, when teams are going to experience their ups and downs.
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