Devils 3-1 Kings: Pesce's Breakthrough Caps a Perfect Homestand — With Hellebuyck Watching
A day after the blockbuster trade for Connor Hellebuyck, New Jersey rallied past Los Angeles for a third straight win.
The New Jersey Devils didn't need their new franchise goaltender on Saturday. A day after acquiring three-time Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck from Winnipeg — a deal that sent Dawson Mercer, Nick Bjugstad, Nico Daws, the rights to Alexander Command and two draft picks the other way, per the club — New Jersey beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 in a Prudential Center matinee, with Hellebuyck not yet dressed and Jake Allen needing only 12 saves.
The turning point
Scott Laughton gave Los Angeles the lead at 15:57 of the second period off an Adrian Kempe feed, but Anthony Mantha answered before intermission, converting at 18:43 with Jesper Boqvist assisting. Then came the moment: Brett Pesce, goalless in 35 games dating to last December, beat Anton Forsberg at 8:08 of the third with Luke Evangelista assisting. "I just kind of blacked out, so it's not going to happen probably ever again," Pesce said, per NHL.com.
Los Angeles thought it had tied the game at 4:36 of the third, but Trevor Moore's apparent goal was waved off for a high stick — confirmed on video review. Arseny Gritsyuk sealed it into the empty net with 1:05 left, extending his goal streak to five straight games.
What it means
The Devils improved to 7-4-0, winning a third straight and sweeping a three-game homestand, with their fourth comeback win of the young season. The Kings fell to 2-5-2 and have been held to one goal in five of their last seven games. "We've been relying on our goalies way too much the last couple of games," defenseman Joel Edmundson said. Forsberg stopped 23 for Los Angeles, but the offense around him keeps going quiet — a problem no goaltender fixes.