Dude, can we talk about what went down in Detroit last night? The New Jersey Devils pulled off a wild 5-4 overtime win against the Red Wings, and seriously, it felt like everyone was just trying to survive. Jack Hughes, number 86, was the hero, burying a breakaway goal against John Gibson in OT to seal the deal. What a chaotic way to get two points!
First Period Was a Rollercoaster, Man
The Devils actually started this game looking sharp, not letting the Red Wings get a single shot for the first five minutes. It was their new-look third line that finally broke the deadlock. Stefan Noesen fought through what looked like a blatant hold, chipped the puck, then slid it to Evan Rodrigues in the slot. Rodrigues wired his first goal of the season! What a start for him! But like, this whole game had a messy vibe from the jump. The Devils dominated, sure, but Detroit almost tied it up with three and a half minutes left when Viktor Arvidsson went on a partial breakaway against Jake Allen, only to shoot wide. Lucky break, right? Not for long. Just a couple minutes later, Emmitt Finnie came down the left side and absolutely beat Allen clean to the far post. Just like that, 1-1.
Second Period Saw More Chaos and Back-and-Forth Action
Okay, so the Devils came out for the second period and totally missed some scoring chances with the Hughes line. Naturally, they fell behind 2-1 after the Red Wings beat them with an alley-oop pass, letting Michael Brandsegg-Nygard rip a one-timer on the rush, assisted by Finnie. Talk about a quick turnaround. But the Devils weren’t done! Seven minutes in, Evan Rodrigues sent a pass up to Dawson Mercer on the rush. Mercer drove wide, sent a pass through a defender’s legs, and Anthony Mantha had a wide-open tap-in for his first goal of the season! Tie game again, 2-2.
Then Hughes drew a hooking penalty from Keegan Kolesar. Power play time! Evan Rodrigues was on the first unit. Jesper Bratt passed from the corner to Nico Hischier, who spun off Justin Faulk and backhanded a redirection. The puck hit Gibson under the mask and trickled under his five hole. Boom, 3-2 Devils! You thought that lead would stick? Nope. Under five minutes left in the period, Alex DeBrincat took a point shot that beat a stickless Jake Allen over the blocker. Ugh. Just rough, man.
But the Devils still had some fight. Jesper Bratt found Jack Hughes with a long stretch pass for a breakaway, but Gibson stuffed him at the post, with Arseny Gritsyuk trying to jam it in. That line kept pressuring, and after Dougie Hamilton took a one-timer through no traffic, Bratt waited at the point for a lane to open through Gritsyuk’s screen and beat Gibson with a long shot! Devils up 4-3!
Seriously, what a weird game. A win is a win, but man, they gotta clean it up a bit if they want to build any momentum. It was pure chaos out there, and you gotta wonder if the Red Wings are still kicking themselves for letting Hughes end it in OT. We’ll see if the Devils can tighten things up in their next outing.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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