Jack Hughes scored his second goal with 2:35 left in overtime Saturday night for the visiting New Jersey Devils, who overcame a two-goal, third-period deficit to edge the New York Islanders 4-3 in Elmont, N.Y.
The Devils began their winning push in OT after Islanders right winger Simon Holmstrom’s shot sailed over the crossbar. Dougie Hamilton collected the rebound and passed through the neutral zone to Hughes, who descended upon Ilya Sorokin and beat him stick side.
Hughes opened the scoring in the second for the Devils. Dawson Mercer and Stefan Noesen scored in the final five minutes of the third to tie the score. Goalie Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves as New Jersey won its third straight and improved to 5-1-0 in its past six games.
Holmstrom scored in the first and Dennis Cholowski and Brock Nelson each added a goal in the third for the Islanders, whose two-game winning streak ended. Sorokin recorded 29 saves.
Holmstrom put the Islanders ahead with 6:51 left in the first. Kyle MacLean picked off a clearing pass by Hamilton and dished to Holmstrom, who shuffled the puck and sent a shot under Markstrom’s stick.
Hughes tied the score with a power-play goal 5:57 into the second. His shot from the upper left faceoff circle sailed past Sorokin’s glove as he was screened by teammate Scott Mayfield as well as Devils center Nico Hischier.
Cholowski and Nelson appeared to put the Islanders in control by scoring within a span of 1:56 shortly beyond the midway point of the third. Devils defenseman Luke Hughes nearly caught up to Pierre Engvall’s clearing pass, but Holmstrom fended him off and passed to Cholowski, whose shot got past Markstrom’s glove with 9:30 left.
Nelson then capped an end-to-end rush by taking a pass from Kyle Palmieri in stride and scoring with 7:34 remaining.
The Devils began their comeback 3:07 later. Center Paul Cotter, hounded by MacLean and Isaiah George, passed to Mercer, whose shot sailed over Sorokin’s stick shoulder.
Markstrom was pulled with about 1:20 left and Noesen was credited with the game-tying goal with 50 seconds remaining when his pass into the crease glanced off the stick and skate of Grant Hutton and trickled underneath Sorokin’s legs.
–Field Level Media