Devils 5, Red Wings 4 (OT): Hughes breaks away to settle it
New Jersey and Detroit traded leads all night in Detroit before Jack Hughes scored 1:19 into overtime.
The New Jersey Devils beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-4 in overtime at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday, with Jack Hughes scoring on a breakaway 1:19 into the extra period, according to NHL.com's game recap.
A game of swings
The lead changed hands repeatedly. Evan Rodrigues put New Jersey in front at 6:07 of the first, but Emmitt Finnie tied it for Detroit late in the period. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard restored the Red Wings' lead early in the second, finishing a 2-on-1 off a cross-ice pass from Finnie. Anthony Mantha tied it, Nico Hischier scored on the power play to make it 3-2 Devils, and Alex DeBrincat tied it again at 15:10 of the second with a wrist shot through traffic after Devils goalie Jake Allen lost his stick and his teammates couldn't get it back to him. Jesper Bratt made it 4-3 before the period ended, and DeBrincat's one-timer from the left circle tied it at 4-4 in the third.
The winner
Overtime lasted 1:19. NHL.com describes a Detroit turnover by Lucas Raymond, a pass up the middle from Bratt and Hughes beating John Gibson to the blocker side. It was Hughes's second overtime winner of the season; his first came at 3:23 of overtime in a 3-2 win over Philadelphia in the season opener.
Numbers behind it
Gibson made 32 saves for Detroit and Allen made 23 for New Jersey. Hughes and Bratt each finished with a goal and two assists, and DeBrincat had two goals and an assist for Detroit. Hischier's goal was his 202nd, tying Bobby Holik and Travis Zajac for third on the Devils' all-time list, per NHL.com.
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said Hughes had 18 shot attempts and that "Jack was really feeling it tonight." Hughes said, "This was a good game and a good win for us," and "We need to keep building on this."
Detroit coach Todd McLellan was blunt about the start: "We didn't skate at all in the first period." He praised the DeBrincat line, calling it "hands down, by a country mile, our best line tonight."
What it means
New Jersey improves to 3-3-0 after a 4-1 home loss to Ottawa the previous day, a quick bounce-back on the second night of a back-to-back. Detroit earns a point and sits at 1-3-2, still searching for consistency six games in. Mantha, who signed with New Jersey in July, got his first goal as a Devil on the night: "I got the first one done, and now I can move on."