Nico Hischier and Yegor Sharangovich sparked a five-goal outburst in the third period as the New Jersey Devils rallied to a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Jon Gillies made 27 saves to help secure the win.
New Jersey, playing its third game in four nights, defeated Montreal on Tuesday to win back-to-back road games for the first time this season.
“We stuck with it. It was a resilient effort,” said Devils forward Jimmy Vesey. A lot of different guys stepped up. It was a big win for our group.”
Brayden Schenn scored twice for the Blues, while Klim Kostin and Justin Faulk also found the back of the net. Playing its first game in 12 days, St. Louis had previously dominated New Jersey, winning 12 of the last 13 matchups between the teams.
“We’ve been off a long time. That could have been part of it,” admitted Blues coach Craig Berube.
Hischier scored twice, including an empty-net goal with nine seconds left. Vesey, Jesper Boqvist, P.K. Subban, and Michael McLeod also contributed goals for the Devils, who initially took a 2-0 lead in the first period. Despite allowing three consecutive goals to the Blues, New Jersey’s third-period surge, featuring five goals in 10:42, secured the victory.
“A tremendous comeback,” said Devils coach Lindy Ruff. “The second period got away from us a little. I thought our guys really responded in the third.”
Hischier broke a 3-3 tie with a shot past Blues goalie Jordan Binnington with 8:26 remaining. Vesey extended the lead to 5-3 before Schenn brought the Blues within one goal with 1:43 left. Boqvist responded just 24 seconds later, making it 6-4. Sharangovich had tied the game at 3 earlier, finishing a pass from Hischier with 10:52 remaining.
“After that (Montreal) game, there was definitely a boost of morale,” Vesey noted. We’re hoping to keep the ball rolling.”
Faulk had given the Blues a 3-2 lead in the second period with a shot that hit the post, then bounced off Gillies’ leg before trickling into the net. Kostin scored his first goal in 30 games with a one-timer from Oskar Sundqvist. Schenn tied the game by slapping in a loose puck while diving across the ice early in the second period.
Subban opened the scoring for the Devils just 2:12 into the game with a shot from the high slot. Gillies, who improved to 3-6-1, played one game for the Blues this season before being traded to the Devils on Dec. 15. He made 36 saves in a 3-2 loss to Anaheim on Dec. 12. Binnington gave up two goals on the first nine shots and fell to 11-10-3.
“Anyone can beat anyone at any time, and we’ve got to realize that,” said Schenn. “They stuck it to us.”
ANTE UP
Blues coach Craig Berube signed a three-year contract extension Wednesday. The 56-year-old coach is 133-72-30 in three-plus seasons with the Blues and led them to a Stanley Cup championship in 2019.
“Why would I want to be anywhere else?” Berube said.
UP NEXT:
- Devils: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
- Blues: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
