Will Butcher and Blake Coleman scored less than two minutes apart to spark a four-goal third period for New Jersey and lead the Devils past the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 Saturday night in Newark, N.J., in a battle of the two teams with the fewest points in the NHL.
Taylor Hall scored the Devils' third goal of the period before Coleman scored again with 11.1 seconds left to cap a game-ending stretch of five unanswered goals by New Jersey, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Kyle Palmieri started the onslaught with a second-period goal that tied the game at 1-1.
Louis Domingue recorded 19 saves in his first NHL start and win since Mar. 21, when he was with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Taro Hirose scored for the Red Wings, who have lost five straight and remained stuck at 17 points, fewest in the NHL. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier made 29 saves.
After a scoreless first, the Red Wings took the lead early in the second thanks to a turnover by Domingue, whose clearing pass was intercepted along the boards by Madison Bowey. The Detroit defenseman passed into the crease, where the puck ticked off the stick of Hirose and fluttered past Domingue at the 3:32 mark.
The Devils needed just 26 seconds to tie the score. Hall outraced Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek to a loose puck behind the Detroit net before passing to Palmieri, whose shot sailed past a screened Bernier.
The Devils took the lead following a faceoff win by Nico Hischier deep in the Red Wings' zone. Hischier corralled the puck and fired a shot that bounced off the skate of Butcher and into the net at the 4:42 mark.
A gritty effort led to the Devils extending their lead 119 seconds later. New Jersey center John Hayden and left winger Miles Wood battled for the puck behind the Red Wings net with Detroit center Luke Glendening. The puck skittered free and into the crease, where Bowey controlled it for a moment before Coleman swiped it and tucked a shot past Bernier.
Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill pulled Bernier with more than five minutes left, but Hall erased any doubt by scoring an empty netter with 4:37 left. Coleman then scored on Bernier with 11.6 seconds remaining.
--Field Level Media
Detroit | New Jersey | |
Taro Hirose 1 | Points | Blake Coleman 2 |
Taro Hirose 1 | Goals | Blake Coleman 2 |
Madison Bowey 1 | Assists | Taylor Hall 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Jonathan Bernier .879 | Save Percentage | Louis Domingue .950 |
Jonathan Bernier 29 | Saves | Louis Domingue 19 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Detroit | 20 | 1 | 0-4 | 4-4 | 15 | 28 |
New Jersey | 34 | 5 | 0-4 | 4-4 | 15 | 25 |