Wood hat trick rallies Devils
CHICAGO -- Miles Wood had a hat trick and the New Jersey Devils erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-5 on Sunday night.
The 22-year-old winger scored a pair of first-period goals and finished off his four-point night with his third goal early in the third period.
A four-goal second period allowed the Devils (11-4-2) to build a 6-4 lead. Taylor Hall's goal with 7:45 remaining in the period gave New Jersey its first lead of the night after the Devils entered the second trailing 4-2.
Brian Gibbons extended the lead to two goals with 2:55 remaining in the second. Chicago (8-8-2) got within 6-5 when Patrick Kane scored on the power play with just 2.7 seconds remaining in the period.
Nico Hischier tied the game 4-4 when he followed up Andy Greene's goal earlier in the period, which inched the Devils closer to wiping out the Blackhawks' one-time comfortable cushion.
The Blackhawks held a two-goal lead following an eventful first period. Chicago jumped out to a 4-1 lead when Tanner Kero scored on a backhand at the 17:01 mark. Just 22 seconds later, defenseman Jan Rutta scored just before a Chicago power play expired.
Alex DeBrincat snapped a 1-1 tie with 6:19 remaining in the first when he took a pass from Nick Schmaltz.
The Blackhawks and Devils exchanged goals before the game's first four minutes had expired. Artem Anisimov provided Chicago with a lead just 41 seconds in when he tipped a Rutta shot. New Jersey answered with a power-play goal by Wood, who tallied the Devils' second goal of the night later in the period.
NOTES: Devils C Travis Zajac remained out Sunday night despite being medically cleared to return on Saturday. Zajac has not played this season after undergoing surgery on Aug. 17 to repair a torn left pectoral muscle. ... Devils F Marcus Johansson remains sidelined more than a week after sustaining a concussion when he went headfirst into the boards against the Edmonton Oilers. ... D Dalton Prout, R Jimmy Hayes and D Ben Lovejoy were scratched for the Devils. ... Blackhawks RW Alex DeBrincat's first-period goal was his third in the last two games. .... D Jan Rutta's goal marked the third straight games the Blackhawks have gotten a goal from a defenseman. ... D Cody Franson, RW Ryan Hartman and C Tommy Wingels were scratched for Chicago.