Blackhawks beat Devils in OT despite Zajac hat trick
CHICAGO -- Marian Hossa scored his fourth game-winning goal of the season 1:31 into overtime as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 Thursday night at the United Center.
Hossa's game-winner came immediately after New Jersey's Michael Cammalleri hit the post with a shot attempt. Hossa followed up with the goal for the Blackhawks (16-6-3) on Chicago's next trip down the ice.
New Jersey (10-7-6) dropped its sixth consecutive road game.
Chicago goalie Corey Crawford made 30 saves for the win. Devils goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 29 shots.
Zajac finished off his hat trick and tied the game 3-3 at 8:49 of the third period. Zajac took a pass from Michael Cammalleri and fired a shot past a diving Crawford, who nearly made the save.
The Blackhawks appeared to take a 4-2 lead 1:27 into the third when Brian Campbell rebounded a Richard Panik shot. However, the goal was waved off when Panik was called for goaltender interference after he took Schneider out of the play by barreling into him on the hard-charging shot attempt.
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville challenged the initial call that the Blackhawks had not scored, but video review confirmed that Panik interfered with Schneider on the play.
Panik missed a chance to snap the 3-3 tie late in regulation when he pushed a shot just wide of an empty net with Schneider out of position.
The Blackhawks took their first lead of the night, 3-2, on Niklas Hjalmarsson's unassisted goal with 1:35 remaining in the second period. Hjalmarsson's wrist shot found its way through traffic and past Schneider, who gave up three goals in the middle period after holding Chicago scoreless over the first 20 minutes.
The Devils used a Zajac power-play goal to take a 2-1 lead 10:43 mark into the period. Zajac spun around and scored on a pass from Kyle Palmieri, who got his stick on the puck after the Blackhawks unsuccessfully attempted to clear their zone.
Chicago, which twice erased one-goal deficits before Hjalmarsson's go-ahead goal, answered almost immediately when Artem Anisimov cleaned up a Brent Seabrook miss that Schneider couldn't control. When the puck squirted loose, Anisimov flipped a shot past Schneider to draw the Blackhawks even at 12:25.
Just 62 seconds into the second period, Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger tied the game 1-1. Kruger took a touch pass from Dennis Rasmussen on an odd-man rush and fired a wrist shot over Schneider's shoulder.
New Jersey took the lead 3:13 in when Zajac poked a rebound past Crawford after the Chicago defense couldn't clear the puck from out of the crease. The Devils controlled the pace of play early and killed off two first-period penalties.
NOTES: Devils RW Taylor Hall returned Thursday night after missing eight games. Hall underwent surgery after he tore his meniscus on Nov. 12. ... Rookie F John Quenneville made his NHL debut Thursday night after being called up from New Jersey's AHL Albany affiliate. Quenneville is the second cousin of Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. ... New Jersey C Sergey Kalinin (illness), LW Reid Boucher (healthy scratch) and C Jacob Josefson (healthy scratch) did not play. ... Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews missed his fourth straight game with an upper body injury. Joel Quenneville said Toews is expected to resume skating either Friday or Saturday, but will be doubtful for Saturday's road game against Philadelphia. ... Chicago C Artem Anisimov returned to the lineup Thursday night after leaving Tuesday's game against the Florida Panthers when he was hit in the heel by the puck. ... Blackhawks RW Jordin Tootoo and D Gustav Forsling were healthy scratches.