The New Jersey Devils are having a remarkable season and often achieving success the hard way.
Red-hot Dawson Mercer scored his second game goal 2:30 into overtime, helping the Devils rally to beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 on Thursday night.
Of the Devils’ 38 wins, an NHL-high 21 have come after trailing. Seven of those have been from games where they were behind by multiple goals, matched only by Chicago.
“I think obviously you can say we’re never out of it,” said Mercer, who has seven goals during his career-high five-game goal streak. “We’ve got a talented group here, a team that plays with speed, and we’re never out of a game. I think we can create constant pressure.”
Tomas Tatar and Nico Hischier also scored for the Devils, with Hischier netting the tying goal with 38 seconds left in regulation. Vitek Vanecek made 19 saves.
Los Angeles’s Anze Kopitar, Viktor Arvidsson, and defenseman Sean Durzi scored, while Pheonix Copley made 27 saves.
“We’ll take the one (point) we got,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Not a lot of teams come into this building or play against that team and leave with points. Conversely, it is disappointing that we couldn’t finish the last 30 seconds.”
Hischier tied the game by tipping Jack Hughes’ shot past Copley with the Devils’ net empty.
Mercer then tipped a pass from Dougie Hamilton past Copley for the game-winner.
“When you’re out there with players like Dougie and Jack, if they have the puck, I want to make sure I get myself open, and Dougie found me,” said Mercer, who has a career-high 18 goals, two more than last season.
Durzi put the Kings ahead 3-2 with 4:19 left in the third period, skating in from the left point and scoring off a pass from Kopitar.
Mercer and Tatar had previously rallied the Devils from a two-goal deficit, setting each other up for goals late in the second period and early in the third.
Mercer, who hit the post in the first period, tied it 2:23 into the third, taking a drop pass from Tatar and beating Copley from the right circle.
The Devils are 9-3 in games decided during the 3-on-3 overtime.
“Their speed can kill people 5-on-5,” McLellan said. So imagine taking two players off the ice. They’re extremely skilled, and their offensive players may not be the biggest, but they can slither and slide off checks, change pace, and escape. That’s probably why they’re winning most of those.”
Kopitar and Arvidsson gave the Kings a 2-0 lead in the first period.
Kopitar scored at 7:24, beating Vanecek on a breakaway by sliding a slow shot between his legs for his 20th goal. The Kings’ captain has goals in four straight games.
A little more than four minutes later, on a 2-on-1 with Kevin Fiala, Arvidsson got his 17th of the season. Vanecek stopped Fiala’s shot, but Arvidsson put the rebound into an open net.
Game Notes
- The Devils will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 2003 Stanley Cup championship on Saturday before a game with Philadelphia.
- The 35-year-old Kopitar has a dozen 20-goal seasons since joining the NHL in 2006-07.
- Kopitar’s multiple-point game was his 125th on the road, tying him for third place in Kings history with Wayne Gretzky. Marcel Dionne (175) is the team’s career leader.
- Kings forward Adrian Kempe picked up an assist on Kopitar’s goal and has a career-high seven-game point streak (eight goals, four assists).
UP NEXT
- Kings: Play the Islanders in New York on Friday.
- Devils: Face the Flyers on Saturday to finish a four-game homestand.
