Devils’ Timo Meier scores in 7th round of shootout to beat Penguins
PITTSBURGH — Timo Meier beat Alex Nedeljkovic in the seventh round of a shootout to lift the New Jersey Devils past the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Jack Hughes scored twice for the Devils. Nico Daws stopped 25 shots in overtime and regulation then turned away five of the seven Penguins he faced in the shootout as the Devils won for the sixth straight time in Pittsburgh.
Jesper Bratt assisted on both of Hughes' goals to boost his season total to 45 as the Devils bounced back from a loss to lowly Buffalo by ending Pittsburgh's modest two-game winning streak.
Rickard Rakell, who was named to Sweden’s 4 Nations team earlier Tuesday, scored his 24th of the season for Pittsburgh and Kevin Hayes tied it with 12:07 to go in regulation. Nedeljkovic finished with 19 saves for the Penguins, including a pair of late stops against Hughes in overtime to send it to the shootout.
Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby missed several shifts in the third period after colliding with New Jersey’s Luke Hughes and Erik Haula. Crosby, who will captain Team Canada at 4 Nations, skated to the bench favoring his left arm/hand but returned after being examined in the locker room.
The Devils played most of the game without defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who appeared to sustain a lower-body injury in the first period when his legs gave out as he skated along the boards.
Devils: Hughes and Bratt are one of the better 1-2 punches in the league and their playmaking helps New Jersey take advantage of its chances.
Penguins: Pittsburgh picked up a point for a third straight game and are showing some fight after trading defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O'Connor to Vancouver.
Hamilton beat Nedeljkovic in the fourth round of the shootout to extend the game with a pretty shot between the goaltender's legs.
The defensive-minded Devils improved to 25-0-2 when leading after two periods.
The Penguins visit the New York Rangers on Friday.
