NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes has dished out three assists since scoring the gold-medal winning goal for Team USA at the Olympics, continuing his productive play and the New Jersey Devils dented their playoff chances with a 4-3 overtime win over the Boston Bruins on Monday night.
Hughes set a goal for Connor Brown to become the fastest player in franchise history to reach 400 career points. He also had a hand in Jesper Bratt’s goal and assisted on Paul Cotter’s game-winner with 6.2 seconds left in 3-on-3 overtime, reaching 402 points in his 414th regular-season game. Hughes returned from Milan and scored 12 points in 10 games.
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Cotter also scored early in the third period to give New Jersey a 3-2 lead before David Pastrnak tied the game at 1:42.
Pastrnak scored twice, including a highlight-reel triple, but he and the Bruins blew a two-goal lead and a chance for their first back-to-back wins since Jan. 27 and 29. Pavel Zacha also scored his 20th goal of the season against his former team, while Jonas Korpisalo allowed four goals on 34 shots as Boston has maintained a winning streak since the NHL season resumed. Olympic break.
The Bruins were leapfrogged by Detroit when the Red Wings beat Calgary on Monday night and are now firmly locked into the Eastern Conference’s second and final wild-card spot. With 15 games left, Boston has 81 points, two ahead of Columbus and four ahead of Ottawa.
Jacob Markstrom stopped 19 shots for the Devils. The teams took a combined 10 penalties, including two grand slams in the final 11 minutes of regulation.
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Next
Bruins: Visit Atlantic Division rival and possible playoff berth Montreal on Tuesday night.
Devils: After completing a seven-game homestand, they take on the New York Rangers on the road Wednesday night for the first of five straight games.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
