NEWARK, New Jersey – At Prudential Center on Wednesday night, the Devils defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime, pulling off a stunning comeback.
Dawson Mercer’s goal in the third period knotted the score at one, but Jack Hughes’ overtime winner sealed the victory.
With an assist on the overtime winner, goalie Vitek Vanecek saved 24 of 25 shots to aid the Devils achieve their fourth victory in their last five games.
“He only gave up one and stood on his head tonight,” Hughes stated. “V had a fantastic game this evening. The crowd ought to be supporting him, as they should.”
The win ended the Bruins’ six-game winning streak against the Devils, and it was head coach Lindy Ruff’s 849th career victory in the dugout. That puts him in a tie for fourth place in NHL history with Ken Hitchcock.
Before scoring the game-winning goal in the 2:47 overtime period, Hughes was on the ice for 1:57 of that time.
Ruff: “We took away maybe 20 seconds from him. Because of his extraordinary skating glide, he can heal quickly.
He took a few pauses, but we could tell he was prepared to continue. He caught the chance for us by putting it in the back of the net.”
The defensive game between the Devils and Bruins was extremely close and competitive. Not much was given up by either side.
The Bruins used their usual collapsing game plan, controlling the slot, cutting off shot lanes, and maintaining possession on the perimeter to limit rebound opportunities.
The Devils recovered quickly, avoiding odd-man rushes and maintaining position above the puck. And the goalies were spot on when both teams faltered.
“We knew we were playing a good team,” said Ruff. The odds were going to be against us. It was a close contest. Both teams gave the game their all.
