Devils Play Spoiler, Eliminate Red Wings With 5-3 Win
Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Days after they were officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New Jersey Devils played the role of spoiler Saturday. The Devils scored three third-period goals and eliminated the Detroit Red Wings from postseason contention with a 5-3 win at Little Caesars Arena. Jesper Bratt had two goals and one assist, and Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist.
The Devils snapped a two-game losing skid, won the season series from the Wings 2-1 and won for the ninth time in their past 15 games. The Devils Rallied to Defeat the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images The Wings entered play desperate while hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive. Detroit recorded the game’s first 10 shots on goal, the last of which was Justin Faulk ‘s 15th goal of the season that put the Wings up 1-0 at 9:41 of the first.
Hughes’ goal less than a minute later, on the Devils’ first shot on goal, both knotted the score and helped the Devils find their game. Still, the Devils were 13 minutes away from their third straight loss after Detroit forward Emmitt Finnie scored his 13th goal of the season on a rebound at 7:00 of the final frame. “They definitely had a lot to play for,” Bratt said.
“They kind of had to try to go for it and had to win. ” Yet, Cody Glass added to his career year by scoring his 19th of the year, a greasy goal at 11:18. Then Bratt finished a perfectly executed two-on-one, off a turnover created by Hughes, and gave the Devils a 4-3 lead with his 22nd of the year with just 3:34 in regulation.
“We were just patient and kinda were waiting for them to make mistakes,” Bratt said. “We just kinda capitalized on it. ” With Detroit’s season on the line — with a win it could have kept pace with the Ottawa Senators, who defeated the New York Islanders earlier in the day — the Devils outshot them 12-7 in the final frame.