Nico Hischier scored his second-night goal on a power play at 4:27 of overtime, securing a 4-3 victory for the New Jersey Devils over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. This win extends the Devils’ streak to eight games.
Miles Wood and Tomas Tatar also scored for the Devils, who now boast an 11-3-0 record, the best in the Metropolitan Division.
“I tried to just get out of the way, but I guess it just hit me a bit and went in,” Hischier said about his game-winning goal, which was assisted by Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes. “The crowd went nuts, and it’s just fun to play like that.”
Shane Pinto scored twice, and Travis Hamonic added a goal for Ottawa. The Senators’ road woes continued with their fifth loss in as many away games, and they have won only four of their 13 games overall.
Both teams had power-play opportunities in overtime, but the Devils successfully killed Ottawa’s two-minute chance.
“To have a chance like that in overtime and not get it done, it’s frustrating,” Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said.
Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek made 18 saves before being replaced by backup Akira Schmid midway through the third period, with the game tied at 3. Vanecek collided with Thomas Chabot late in the second, resulting in Chabot being called for interference. Schmid made seven saves in relief, including five in overtime, earning his first NHL win.
“You never want to go in like this and see your teammate get hurt, but you just have to be ready for moments like this,” Schmid said.
Anton Forsberg had 37 saves in the loss.
Wood scored his sixth goal of the season at 2:53 of the second period, giving the Devils a 3-2 lead. The Devils dominated the second period, outshooting the Senators 21-7.
Devils coach Lindy Ruff praised his team’s support of Schmid, a 22-year-old goaltender from Switzerland selected in the fifth round of the 2018 draft.
“I think our team understands that we’ve got a goaltender coming in cold. If he’s going to face something, let’s make sure he’s facing what we feel are warmup shots,” Ruff said. “He made a couple of tough ones in the overtime for us.”
Ruff added that he was confident Vanecek was not seriously hurt.
The Senators struck quickly in the third when Pinto scored his second of the game and team-leading eighth of the season at 1:29. The 21-year-old forward from Franklin Square on Long Island mentioned he had about 40 family and friends at the game.
Both teams scored twice in the first period.
Tatar put the Devils ahead at 4:44 with his second goal before Pinto and Hamonic scored just over a minute apart to give the Senators a 2-1 lead. Pinto scored his seventh on the power play at 12:15, with assists from Claude Giroux and Jake Sanderson. Hamonic followed with his second at 13:24 with a long shot from just inside the blue line.
Hischier tied the game again at 18:06 of the first period, well before his overtime heroics. The Devils’ captain leads the team with eight goals.
BRODEUR PROMOTED
Former Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was named executive vice president of hockey operations earlier Thursday. The Hall-of-Fame netminder has been an executive vice president/adviser to General Manager Tom Fitzgerald since January 2020.
Game Notes
- The Devils were without injured forward Ondrej Palat (groin surgery) and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
- The Devils also scratched forward Alexander Holtz and defenseman Kevin Bahl.
- The Senators scratched defenseman Nikita Zaitsev and center Dylan Gambrell.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
- Senators: At Philadelphia on Saturday.
