OTTAWA — Jack Hughes scored the overtime winner as the New Jersey Devils topped the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Sunday evening.
Hughes’s sixth goal of the season came less than a minute into the extra period.
Nico Hischier and Nikita Gusev both had power-play goals for the Devils (13-19-6), while Miles Wood gave them a 3-2 lead by the second intermission.
Thomas Chabot, who had left the bench for a few minutes after taking a shot off his right hand, scored on a long shot from the point at 15:02 of the third to send the game to overtime for Ottawa (16-18-5).
Nick Paul and Artem Anisimov had back-to-back goals in the second period for the Senators.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves in a winning effort for New Jersey, while Craig Anderson stopped 30 shots for Ottawa.
Hischier opened the scoring for the Devils, tipping home a Sami Vatanen shot from the point at 8:58 of the first period. It was his eighth goal of the season.
The Hischier goal came during a chippy 20 minutes, as both teams were back in action after long layoffs for the Christmas break. A combined 32 penalty minutes were doled out in the opening frame.
Paul tied it up 1-1 midway through the second period with a wrist shot that squeaked by Blackwood’s blocker. Anthony Duclair and Cody Goloubef assisted on the goal. The assist gave Duclair his team-leading 31st point of the season while Goloubef notched his first.
Anisimov put the Senators ahead 2-1 at 13:28 of the second. Anisimov tapped the puck out of mid-air off the post, but Blackwood knocked it into his own net with his skate.
The Ottawa faithful barely had time to celebrate Anisimov’s seventh of the season. With a two-man advantage Gusev potted one five-hole on Anderson to tie the game again at 2-2 less than two minutes later.
Wood put the visitors up 3-2 heading into the final period. He scored after a Hail Mary pass from Wayne Simmonds sprung Wood on a partial break.
Scott Sabourin made his return for Ottawa in the loss after suffering a broken nose and the first recorded concussion of his career on Nov. 2, but was a non-factor.
Notes
The Senators end 2019 with a game in Pittsburgh against the Penguins Monday night, while the Devils play New Years Eve at home against the Boston Bruins.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2019.
Adam Stanley, The Canadian Press
