Miles Wood scored twice and added an assist as the New Jersey Devils came from behind to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Thursday night, marking their fifth consecutive victory.
Ryan Graves and Jesper Bratt also found the net for the Devils. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 16 of 18 shots before leaving the game in the second period due to an apparent injury. Vitek Vanecek took over and made 18 saves.
“That was a huge win for us. They were 7-3, just like us heading into this game. They’re a great team, and to come back like that in the third period was a great sign,” Wood said. “It just showed a huge sign of strength by all the guys on the team.”
Connor McDavid, Derek Ryan, and Leon Draisaitl scored for Edmonton, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Stuart Skinner made 39 saves.
“I definitely feel we should have won,” McDavid said. “I definitely feel like we created enough chances. We probably gave up too many chances, but I thought (Skinner) gave us a great chance to win. You have a team on the ropes, and we had a couple of looks there, and you’ve got to put them down. That’s the way it goes. You have to find a way to close that one out.”
Trailing 3-1 after two periods, the Devils began their comeback with Wood’s second goal of the night just 1:14 into the third period, beating Skinner off a faceoff for his fourth of the season.
When his shot slipped through Skinner’s legs, graves tied the game with 3:15 remaining.
Only seven seconds later, Bratt broke away and fired a shot off the post and in for his fifth of the season, giving the Devils the lead. This extended Bratt’s point streak to 11 games, setting a franchise record to start a season.
“We talked about it in the second period, that good teams have to be able to come back when they are down,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “We would have to put a little more gamble in our game. There was a lot we liked in our game. I thought we left some opportunities out there early. That was just two fast teams playing incredibly fast hockey.”
Edmonton scored at 9:20 of the first period when Darnell Nurse’s diving defensive play set up a 2-on-1, leading to Zach Hyman assisting McDavid for his league-leading 12th goal.
The Devils quickly tied it up at 3:02 after an Oilers turnover allowed Wood to beat Skinner with a quick wrist shot.
Edmonton regained the lead eight minutes into the second period as Ryan tipped Tyson Barrie’s shot into the net for his second goal in two games.
After Blackwood exited the game during an Oilers power play, Draisaitl scored his sixth goal on the first shot against Vanecek at 9:26, extending his point streak to six games.
HONORING THE PAST
During a pregame ceremony, Edmonton inducted Ryan Smyth and Lee Fogolin into the team’s Hall of Fame. Smyth ranks second in franchise history in games played (971), fifth in goals (296), and eighth in points (631). Fogolin was a defenseman on the Oilers’ first two Stanley Cup championship teams in 1984 and 1985.
MILESTONE
Devils defenseman John Marino played in his 200th game. Marino was originally an Oilers draft pick but never played for them.
UP NEXT
- Devils: At Calgary on Saturday night to wrap up a three-game trip.
- Oilers: Host Dallas on Saturday night to finish a three-game homestand.
