In Newark, the New Jersey Devils could not hold a 2-1 third period lead over the Nashville Predators on Sunday night.
The Preds rallied on a game-tying goal by Luke Evangelista at 12:45, scoring off the power play for the marker.
That was enough to get the teams to extra time.
“They were pressuring really hard all night on the power play, especially off of face-offs, so I figured when the puck came back to me I was going to have at least one guy, maybe two, coming at me,” Evangelista said. “I did a little cut back and saw O’Reilly was supporting me really well in the middle of the ice. I was able to slip the puck inside and he got a shot off with some traffic in front, and the rebound was just kind of sitting there and I was able to bury it. So, it was well executed.”
Ryan O’Reilly was credited with the game winner in the skills portion of the evening’s affair.
“It was a grind, and I’m proud of the group and the resiliency,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said.
Juuse Saros made 23 saves through extra time, and stopped all three skaters on penalties.
“It’s weird, obviously, for the amount of time I played with Allen (with the St. Louis Blues). … He kind of knows my normal moves,” O’Reilly said. “So, I kind of thought I’d do something a little different on him and just try to see what I could get. Lucky for me it got past him.”
The Predators improved to 45-29-4, reclaiming the first wild card in the Western Conference, two points clear of the Vegas Golden Knights.
“It was a good effort and we stuck with it,” O’Reilly said. “Obviously, it wasn’t a great start, but we kept building. We went out in the third and there was some miscommunication, which happens, and a little breakdown, but we kind of reset and turned it up in the third and I thought responded well.”
New Jersey took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Jack Hughes at 1:49 of the opening stanza.
Nashville replied with a strike by Roam Josi at 8:39 to tie the game, 1-1, scoring off a shot from the point.
New Jersey dropped to 37-36-5 off their fourth loss in five matches.
“To lose a game in the shootout, I just close my eyes and hope to hear the crowd roar,” New Jersey coach Travis Green said. “It’s a lot more fun when you win.”
New Jersey took a 2-1 lead in the third period when Chris Tierney scored at 2:11 of the third. 
Kaapo Kahkonen got the start for New Jersey, he made four saves, yielding one goal before leaving the ice for an apparent injury in the first period.
Jake Allen made 29 saves in relief.
“It’s a good hockey team over there. They work,” Allen said. “They don’t have the most overly skilled lineup, but everyone contributes every night and that’s why they’re in the playoff (hunt) right now. Good teams are going to do that … they’re going to get momentum. It’s how you manage that momentum and create your own.”
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