The Pittsburgh Penguins fell to the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in overtime at Prudential Center.
Defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Jack Hughes each had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who improved to 30-12-4 this season, and 6-0-1 in their past seven games. Goaltender Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves and now has won his last seven games, which is tied for the longest winning streak for any goalie this season. He is also the first Devils goalie to win seven straight games since Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg both did it in 2010-11.
Forward Sidney Crosby scored the lone goal for the Pens, and goalie Tristan Jarry made 23 saves for the Penguins, who dropped to 23-15-8 and are now 2-0-2 in their last four games.
Fifty-six seconds into the game, Hughes would give the Devils a 1-0 lead off an end-to-end goal. It was his 30th goal of the season, extending his point streak to five games. Hughes would become the third-fastest player in franchise history to score 30 goals in just 46 games. Only forwards Paul Gardner (44 games in 1977-78) and Claude Lemieux (45 games in 1991-92) would do it in fewer games. He also is the first Devil to score 30 goals in less than 60 games since forward Zach Parise (52 games in 2008-09). Over six minutes into the game, Crosby would tie the game at 1-1, shooting through traffic and beating Vanecek. It would be Crosby’s 539th career goal, which would move him to 33rd all-time in goals past former NHL forward Keith Tkachuk. It also was the 379th even-strength goal of his career, which tied former forward Stan Mikita for 24th all-time.
Just over two minutes into the third period, Vanecek robbed forward Ryan Poehling to keep the game at 1-1.
Over two minutes into overtime, Hamilton would win the game for the Devils. He fired a one-timer from Hughes and beat Jarry to make it 2-1. Thirty-nine seconds earlier, it looked like defenseman Marcus Pettersson won the game for the Penguins, but the goal was disallowed due to the Pens having too many men on the ice. The Penguins, instead, would be penalized, and the Devils capitalized on the man advantage.
