Devils rally past Wild
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Beau Bennett, Kyle Palmieri and Adam Henrique scored third-period goals as the New Jersey Devils overcame a pair of deficits and cooled off the red-hot Minnesota Wild just a bit with a 4-3 victory Tuesday.
The Devils, who also got a power-play goal from Pavel Zacha and 32 saves from goalie Cory Schneider, seemed content to just hang on through the first 30 minutes as Minnesota built a 2-0 lead. But New Jersey (19-18-9) turned the tables in the third period to finish their four-game road trip 3-0-1.
Jared Spurgeon, Jason Zucker and Erik Haula scored for the Wild (28-10-5) who controlled long stretches of the play, but could not put the Devils away early when they had the opportunity. Devan Dubnyk finished with 22 saves for Minnesota, which lost for only the fifth time at home this season (14-5-0).
Bennett's wrist shot with 2:17 to play eluded Dubnyk on the glove side for the game-winner.
The Wild led 2-1 to start the third before Henrique forged a tie with a seeing-eye shot that beat Dubnyk over the right shoulder. Haula re-established a 3-2 lead for the Wild midway through the third, but Palmieri re-tied the game on the next shift 22 seconds later.
Minnesota, which lost for only the second time in regulation since Dec. 1, played a thoroughly dominant opening period. The Wild outshot New Jersey 15-6 and netted the only goal of the session when Spurgeon scored on the game's first power play.
Schneider stopped the initial shot by Wild right winger Nino Niederreiter, but the rebound sailed high into the air and to the right of the net. Spurgeon gloved the flying puck, dropped it, then batted it out of the air when the puck had fallen to waist level. Schneider, still recovering from his save of the Niederreiter shot, had no chance to stop Spurgeon's bunt.
Zucker doubled the Wild lead early in the second period, taking a lead pass from Mikael Granlund and firing a rising backhander that found a gap between the right post and Schneider's right leg pad.
But the Devils answered before the period was over, scoring on their first power play of the game.
Zacha caught a cross-ice pass from Palmieri and snapped off a low shot from the right circle. Spurgeon was able to deflect the puck slightly, but not enough to keep it out of the net. It was Zacha's third goal of the season and his first since Nov. 25.
NOTES: For the seventh consecutive game, the Devils were without a pair of defensive mainstays. John Moore is out of the lineup with a concussion, and Andy Greene is absent because of a lower-body injury. ... Jan. 17 marks the latest point in a full season that the Wild have led the Western Conference standings. In 2013 they sat atop the West on Jan. 20, but that was with a 2-0-0 record in a lockout-shortened season. ... A young Minnesotan who helped Team USA win the gold medal earlier this month at the World Junior Championships in Montreal was honored by the Wild before the game. St. Cloud State University freshman D Jack Ahcan played for the Americans who went undefeated in the tournament to win the country's fourth World Juniors gold. ... The Devils return home next to face the Montreal Canadiens in Newark on Friday. The Wild are in the midst of a four-game home stand and will face the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday in St. Paul.