National Hockey League
New Jersey 5, Minnesota 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 2, 2023
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Justin Kea, Chris Lee
Linesmen: Brad Kovachik, Travis Toomey
Attendance: 18399

Jesper Bratt scored one goal and tallied three assists, and the New Jersey Devils held on for a 5-3 win over the host Minnesota Wild on Thursday night in St. Paul, Minn.

Alexander Holtz, Michael McLeod, Timo Meier and Dougie Hamilton also scored for New Jersey, which earned its third win in a row. The Devils beat the Wild for the second consecutive game.

Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek turned aside 22 of 25 shots to pick up the victory.

Marco Rossi finished with a goal and an assist for Minnesota. Kirill Kaprizov and Jake Middleton also scored.

Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson gave up five goals on 38 shots to draw the loss.

New Jersey opened the scoring 3:20 into the first period. Holtz skated toward the slot and blasted a one-timer past Gustavsson for his third goal of the season.

The Devils increased their lead to 2-0 with 4:37 remaining in the period. Bratt slipped a pass to Ondrej Palat, who quickly moved the puck to McLeod for a tip-in score.

Early in the second period, New Jersey went ahead 3-0 on the power play. Jack Hughes fed a pass toward the crease for Meier, who punched a shot into the net.

Minnesota cut the deficit to 3-1 on a power-play goal with 10:57 to go in the second period. Kaprizov's wrist shot from the top of the left circle slipped past Vanecek.

The Wild pulled within 3-2 with 18:50 left in the game. Rossi notched his fourth goal when he punched in a loose puck from the left side of the crease.

The Devils made it 4-2 thanks to a power-play goal with 4:24 remaining. Bratt tallied his seventh goal on a one-timer from the left circle.

Again, Minnesota tried to claw back, this time with an even-strength goal from Middleton. He scored with 3:33 to play to trim the deficit to 4-3.

Hamilton finished the scoring with a power-play goal with 40 seconds left.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Minnesota
Jesper Bratt 4 Points Marco Rossi 2
Jesper Bratt 1 Goals Marco Rossi 1
Jesper Bratt 3 Assists Matt Boldy 2
Jesper Bratt 1 Power Play Goals Kirill Kaprizov 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Vitek Vanecek .880 Save Percentage Filip Gustavsson .868
Vitek Vanecek 22 Saves Filip Gustavsson 33
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 38 5 3-5 1-2 4 31
Minnesota 25 3 1-2 2-5 10 18
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against NY Rangers. The Wild have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .333 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Devils have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .667 after a loss.