Timo Meier scored a tiebreaking goal late in the third period and Nico Hischier scored twice to give the visiting New Jersey Devils a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Jack Hughes also scored for the Devils, who have won two straight games for the first time in over a month. Goaltender Nico Daws made 30 saves to record the victories on consecutive nights.
With the score tied 2-2, Meier scored his first goal in 13 games at 14:44 of the third period. During a flurry of action at the Nashville net, Meier took a couple of whacks at a loose puck and slid home his 10th marker of the season.
Hischier added an empty-net goal in the final minute, his 16th tally of the campaign.
Ryan O’Reilly and Tommy Novak scored for the Predators, who have only one win in their past five outings. Cody Glass and Roman Josi each collected a pair of assists in the loss, and goalie Juuse Saros was outstanding with a 43-save performance. Saros made 22 of those saves in the first period.
O’Reilly’s power-play goal 4:04 into the clash opened the scoring. Daws, who backstopped the Devils to a 3-1 home victory over the Seattle Kraken on Monday, stopped a deflected point shot, but O’Reilly pounced on the rebound for his 19th goal of the season.
Hughes replied 90 seconds into the second period, his 17th marker of the campaign. Hughes worked essentially coast-to-coast before he ripped a shot from the bottom of the right circle.
Novak gave the hosts a second lead at 7:01 of the second period. He took a pass as he zipped through a pair of defenders and ripped a shot from the slot for his 10th goal of the season.
Hischier again tied the game at 2:16 of the third period. The Devils captain set up shop in front of the net and deflected Jesper Bratt’s shot.
Nashville defenseman Ryan McDonagh played his 900th career game, and Devils forward Curtis Lazar played his 500th contest.
–Field Level Media
