Jack Hughes scored 1:18 into overtime to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 5-4 comeback victory over the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Saturday. Hughes took a pass from Luke Hughes and converted on a wrist shot to cap the rally after New Jersey trailed by two goals in the second period.
Anthony Duclair opened the scoring for the Islanders at 15:06 of the first period on a wrist shot set up by Simon Holmstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Evan Rodrigues replied for New Jersey just 17 seconds later, beating the goaltender with a wrist shot off a feed from Anthony Mantha. Matthew Schaefer restored New York's lead at 17:14 with an even-strength wrist shot, assisted by Bo Horvat and Emil Heineman.
Declan Chisholm tied the contest at 2-2 for the Devils at 4:42 of the second period with a wrist shot assisted by Jesper Bratt and Arseny Gritsyuk. New York regained control shortly after. Holmstrom scored on a wrist shot at 5:08, and Victor Eklund poked in a goal at 11:54 off helpers from Tony DeAngelo and Brayden Schenn to give the Islanders a 4-2 advantage.
The Devils rallied in the third period with two unanswered goals. Luke Evangelista batted in a loose puck at 6:08 after passes from Brett Pesce and Nico Hischier to trim the margin to one. At 13:42, Dougie Hamilton scored on the power play with a wrist shot from the slot, assisted by Jack Hughes and Evangelista, sending the matchup into overtime.
Ilya Sorokin made 45 saves on 50 shots in the overtime loss for the Islanders as New Jersey held a 50-23 advantage in shots on goal. Jake Allen stopped 19 of 23 shots to earn the win for the Devils. New Jersey capitalized on special teams by going 1-for-4 on the power play, while New York did not receive a power-play opportunity and served 32 penalty minutes.
The victory improved New Jersey's regular-season record to 12-5-0 and extended its winning streak to four games. The Islanders dropped to 7-6-3 on the season and are winless in their last three games at 0-2-1. The season series between the two clubs is now tied at one win apiece.
Both teams continue regular-season play on the road. The Devils visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, November 8, while the Islanders travel to face the San Jose Sharks on Monday, November 9.
