In Pittsburgh Friday night, the New Jersey Devils put some distance between themselves and the Florida Panthers in the playoff race with a 4-3 win over the Penguins in overtime.
Taylor Hall struck for the game-winner with just 27 seconds gone in the extra session.
“You know how much skill they have out there, and you know they’re offensive guys and that’s how they’re going to think,” Hall said. “I saw a chance to take off a little bit and get behind them. I was just hoping Nico was going to win his battle and, sure enough, he did.”
Keith Kinkaid made 40 saves to pick up the win.
“Keith was excellent,” Devils head coach John Hynes said. “He made some huge saves for us down the stretch. It’s difficult to beat a team like Pittsburgh. … They’re so dynamic. They have so many weapons in their lineup. You know they’re going to get looks at certain times regardless of what you do. Keith came up with some big, big saves.”
Will Butcher, Blake Coleman and Nico Hischier scored for the Devils in a nine minute stretch in the middle frame.
“I think we were excited to play. We were ready. It was just kind of more of a settling into the game and trusting our instincts and getting ready to play. I think our heads and everything were in the right position. It was just a little bit of execution we weren’t doing,” the Devils’ Andy Green said of the Devils’ effort in the latter half of the game.
Brian Dumoulin, Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel scored for the Pens.
[WATCH:Â All Devils vs. Penguins highlights]
Matt Murray made 30 saves in the loss and was unhappy with his effort after the game.
“It’s tough to evaluate right after a game like that,” Pens head coach Mike Sullivan said. “It’s an emotional game. I thought he made some timely saves when the opportunities presented themselves. But certainly, when you don’t win, everybody has to take some ownership.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.