Curtis Lazar and Jesper Bratt each had a goal and an assist Thursday as the visiting New Jersey Devils snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Nathan Bastian, Alexander Holtz and Tyler Toffoli also scored, and Erik Haula and Luke Hughes each had two assists for the Devils, who scored four straight after trailing 2-1.
New Jersey goaltender Vitek Vanecek made 21 saves.
Bryan Rust scored twice for the Penguins, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.
Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry made 26 saves.
Through two periods, the teams traded goals.
Rust started it off, giving Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 6:36 of the first. He carried the puck down the right side and cut toward the slot, getting a step on Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Rust went forehand to backhand and flipped the puck over Vanecek’s right shoulder.
The Devils answered with a short-handed goal at 13:34 of the first. Haula picked off the puck in the neutral zone for a two-on-one with Lazar against Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. Haula got a pass through to Lazar, who shot the puck under Jarry’s pads for a 1-1 tie.
Rust struck again at 3:17 of the second for a 2-1 lead. Erik Karlsson fired a backhander from the lower part of the left circle, and Rust deflected it in. Sidney Crosby got the secondary assist, extending his point streak to 10 games.
The Devils tied it again 38 seconds later. On a second rebound, Bastian batted the puck behind Jarry’s right skate.
Bratt gave New Jersey its first lead at 2:35 of the third. With the teams skating four aside, he moved from the slot into the right circle and scored high short side to make it 3-2.
At 11:24 of the third, Holtz made it 4-2. Dawson Mercer, behind the net, fed Holtz near the right post, and Holtz one-timed the puck near side.
Toffoli struck 20 seconds later off the rush. From the right hash marks, he made it 5-2 with a far-side shot.
–Field Level Media
