Devils Score In 1st Minute Of OT, Beat Wild 4-3
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — John Moore scored 52 seconds into overtime and the New Jersey Devils overcame a late letdown to cap a successful road trip with a 4-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Monday night.
Rookie defenseman Will Butcher scored for the second straight game and Cory Schneider stopped 33 shots for New Jersey, which led 3-1 before Minnesota's Mikael Granlund scored twice in the third period.
Adam Henrique had a goal and two assists, and Steven Santini scored his first goal of the season for the Devils. They finished a 3-0-1 road trip that included wins over Chicago and Minnesota and an overtime loss at Toronto. New Jersey is 7-2-2 away from home this season.
Nino Niederreiter also scored for the Wild, who have lost two in a row. Granlund's second goal with the extra attacker and 1:36 left pushed the game into overtime. Devan Dubnyk made 21 saves.
In overtime, Henrique pulled Dubnyk over to his right on the rush and sent a cross-ice pass to Moore for his third goal of the season.
Butcher, the Hobey Baker Award winner as the best player in college hockey last season at Denver, had 14 assists in his first 18 games and has added his first two goals in back-to-back games.
The Wild controlled play early and the Devils didn't have a shot on goal through the first nine minutes. Their first shot came on a clearing attempt from the defensive zone that floated to Dubnyk at the other end of the ice.
But fortune favored New Jersey. Henrique's shot in the first was saved by Dubnyk, but the puck ended up sitting in the crease and was punched in by Minnesota defenseman Gustav Olofsson.
Niederreiter tied the game just 1:32 into the second period to extend his goal streak to a career-high four games. He has six goals and three assists in 11 games since returning from a high ankle sprain.
But then Olofsson might have helped New Jersey again. Santini's shot from the sidewall appeared to hit Olofsson before deflecting past Dubnyk.
NOTES: Minnesota forward Charlie Coyle returned to the lineup after missing 16 games with a broken right leg. Coyle took the spot of Chris Stewart, scratched for the first time this season. Stewart had six goals in the first six games but hasn't scored since. . New Jersey forward Pavel Zacha played after being a healthy scratch in four of the previous five games. Stefan Noesen was scratched for the first time in eight games. . The Wild have five power-play goals in their past three games. They were 2 for 34 over their previous 11 games.
UP NEXT
Devils: Return home against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
Wild: Travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Wednesday.
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