Jesper Bratt scored his first NHL hat trick as the New Jersey Devils rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Sunday night, ending a three-game losing streak.
Nico Hischier and Nolan Foote also scored for the Devils, who boast a league-leading road record of 26-5-4. Vitek Vanecek made 22 saves, helping New Jersey secure a win after recent home losses to Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by a 4-2 loss at Florida on Saturday after leading 2-0.
“We played much better today,” Hischier said. “It would have been tough to swallow if we’d lost the lead again, but we played our game throughout. We must understand that if we stick to our game, we can beat these teams.”
Nikita Kucherov reached the 100-point mark for the third time in his career, and Alex Killorn scored for the Lightning, who had won three straight. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 34 saves.
“We need to keep it simple,” defenseman Zach Bogosian said after the Lightning committed 16 turnovers. “We’re successful when we forecheck and get pucks behind the defense.”
Kucherov gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 3:26 of the first period, one-timing a power-play feed from Steven Stamkos past Vanecek to reach 100 points. He previously had 100 points in 2017-18 and led the NHL with 128 in 2018-19.
Killorn made it 2-0 at 6:30 of the second period, drifting into the slot and beating Vanecek. The Devils responded 9 seconds later when Bratt scored on a pass from Hischier.
Devils coach Lindy Ruff emphasized the importance of Bratt’s quick response.
“We talked about capturing momentum this morning,” Ruff said. “After their second goal, Bratt’s quick response was the game’s turning point.”
Lightning coach Jon Cooper agreed.
“I liked our first period and the first eight minutes of the second,” he said. But after their second goal, Bratt’s quick response shifted the momentum. Then, it was just turnovers and poor puck management. They’re a young, fast, skilled team, and they capitalized.”
Bratt tied the game 2:43 later with a shot from just inside the blue line that sailed past Vasilevskiy.
Hischier, the first overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, scored his 30th goal for the first time in his career, putting New Jersey ahead with under eight minutes left in the second period.
Foote extended the lead to 4-2 at 9:51 of the third period with his first goal of the season, and Bratt completed his hat trick with an empty-netter with 11.6 seconds remaining, reaching his 30th goal.
Bratt said reaching 30 goals on the same night as Hischier was special. Both players joined the NHL with the Devils in 2017-18 and have often played on the same line.
“It’s great for both of us to hit 30 on such a special team win,” Bratt said. I’m happy for us both.”
HONORING PALAT
The Lightning honored forward Ondrej Palat with a video tribute during the first media timeout in his first visit to Amalie Arena since signing with New Jersey as a free agent last summer. Palat played his first 10 NHL seasons with the Lightning, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.
- Lightning: At Montreal on Tuesday night.
