Dougie Hamilton scored in overtime, and rookie Nico Daws made 19 saves as the New Jersey Devils edged the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Sunday.
Hamilton netted his ninth goal of the season at 1:12 into the extra session with a high shot that beat Blues netminder Ville Husso. Pavel Zacha and Jack Hughes assisted on the game-winner.
“I was just trying to see where the puck was going,” Hamilton said. ”Pav made a great pass, and I just put it in.”
The Devils snapped a two-game losing streak, while the Blues suffered their third straight New York-area loss this week, having also fallen to the Rangers and Islanders.
New Jersey won after the Blues tied the game with two early third-period goals. Despite the setback, the young Devils continued to press, ultimately forcing overtime.
“We just settled back and I believe we went out there after the goal, had a couple strong shifts and we just kept on playing,” said Devils forward Dawson Mercer, who scored his team’s second goal. “I think that really just helped us get through those last 10 minutes and finish it off at the end.”
Both teams failed to capitalize on late third-period power-play opportunities. Devils defenseman Ryan Graves was called for tripping at 15:11 before St. Louis defenseman Torey Krug was penalized for holding at the 18-minute mark, marking the Devils’ fifth man-advantage chance.
The Devils led 2-0 on goals by Ty Smith and Mercer heading into the third, but St. Louis tied it with goals from Krug and Jordan Kyrou less than four minutes apart early in the period.
“Overall, I thought we played one of our better games. Even though they got a couple in the third, I thought we continued to play our game,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said.
Smith opened the scoring for the Devils at 9:47 of the first, rifling the puck past Husso for his second goal of the season. Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier assisted.
Hischier extended his point streak to four games and has 14 points since Feb. 1.
The 23-year-old Bratt continued his breakout season, leading the team with 32 assists and 51 points, both career highs.
The Devils outshot the Blues 15-12 in a spirited first period.
Mercer made it 2-0 for New Jersey at 9:26 of the second, finishing a pretty passing sequence with a high shot that beat Husso. Hughes and Jimmy Vesey assisted on Mercer’s 14th goal of the season.
“I feel like with our team, we’re young, fast, skilled-type of forwards up there,” Mercer added. “You want to make those plays, and I just had that feeling. Bratt makes those great cross-ice passes, as you can see in the first goal, and the same goes for Jack. Two defensemen approached his side, and I called for it.”
Hughes has now registered points in nine of his past 10 games and 13 of his past 15 games.
The Blues had only one shot on Daws in the second period, while the Devils had eight on Husso.
“In the third period, we finally got going and made a game of it,” Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “We just aren’t doing it the right way right now. We have to get back to where we need to be.”
Krug broke through for the Blues at 2:08 of the third with his seventh goal before Kyrou tied it at 5:44 with his team-leading 22nd goal of the season.
Kyrou and Vladimir Tarasenko assisted on Krug’s goal. Brayden Schenn and Tarasenko assisted on Kyrou’s goal.
The Devils were coming off a 3-1 loss to the Rangers on Friday night and are opening a four-game homestand with games to follow this week against Colorado, Winnipeg, and Anaheim.
The Blues lost 2-1 to the Islanders on Saturday afternoon. St. Louis is completing a four-game road trip. They won 4-0 at Chicago before losing to the Rangers 5-3 last Wednesday.
“We need to play the right way, not turning pucks over,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “We didn’t have the puck enough.”
The Blues lost their past two games against the Devils after winning the 12 matchups. They lost their previous game in New Jersey, 4-2, on March 6, 2020, several days before the pandemic halted play.
The Blues are still 6-2-2 in their past 10 games.
Husso made 30 saves in defeat and is 10-2-2 since the start of 2022. The 27-year-old Finnish netminder is 13-4-3 thus far in his second NHL season.
Daws started for the Devils for the fourth straight game and fifth in the past six games. A fourth-round draft choice by the Devils in 2020, the German-born Daws played a strong game against the Rangers on Friday, making 29 saves in his Madison Square Garden debut.
“He played really well,” Ruff said about his rookie goaltender, who improved to 4-3-0 this season. I thought today was a complete game for us with all four lines and six defensemen.”
Game Notes
The Devils are the youngest team in the league, with an average age of 25.4 years. … The Blues rank 21st with an average age of 28.2 years. … New Jersey won the previous team meeting this season, 7-4, on Feb. 10 in St. Louis. … The last time the Devils won both games against St. Louis in the same season was 2002-03. … The Devils scratched defensemen Colton White, Christian Jaros, and Mason Geertsen. … The Blues scratched forwards Dakota Joshua and Logan Brown.
UP NEXT:
- Devils: Host Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
- Blues: Return home after a four-game road trip to host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
