Hischier scores in OT as Devils beat Coyotes 5-4
By JACK THOMPSON
Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Nico Hischier scored 23 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.
Jesper Boqvist scored twice, Timo Meier had a goal in his Devils debut and Damon Severson had a goal and an assist. Dougie Hamilton and Erik Haula each had two assists, and Vitek Vanecek stopped 22 shots as New Jersey extended its point streak to five games (4-0-1) and stayed two points behind first-place Carolina in the Metropolitan Division.
Jack McBain had a goal and an assist, and Nick Schmaltz, Zack Kassian and Matias Maccelli also scored for the Coyotes. Juuso Valimaki had two assists and Connor Ingram finished with 35 saves.
In the extra period, Hischier scored on a drive from the right side to beat Ingram after the Coyotes had rallied to tie the score on McBain’s goal with 2 minutes left in regulation.
“That’s actually where I wanted to shoot it. It worked out well,” Hischier said of the 3-on-3 rush into the Arizona zone. It was his seventh game-winning goal of the season and his 27th overall.
Meier, acquired from San Jose in a blockbuster trade that involved nine players and four draft picks last Sunday, backhanded a rebound past Ingram at 9:09 of the first period. It was his 32nd goal of the season.
“I haven’t played in a bit, so I tried to go out there and keep it simple,” said Meier, who was coming off an upper-body injury and last took the ice for the Sharks on Feb. 18.
Devils coach Lindy Ruff put Meier on a line with fellow high scorers Jack Hughes and Jesper Brett.
“It’s not easy to come back. One full practice. It’ll take a while. We know what he can do, he’s gifted around the net,” Ruff said. “It was a first good outing.”
After Meier’s opening goal, Maccelli tied it 1:10 later on a pass from Victor Soderstrom for his fifth goal.
New Jersey regained the lead with 1:42 left in the opening period when Boqvist scored his first of the night.
The Coyotes outshot the Devils 15-12 in the period and had several chances to score, the best being when Valimaki hit the right post on the only power play of the period.
Severson, who assisted on Boqvist’s goal, scored from the point on the Devils’ first power play at 4:44 of the second to push the lead to 3-1. It was his fifth.
Kassian scored his second goal of the season from the slot with 3:37 left in the middle period to get the Coyotes within one.
Boqvist scored his second of the game and seventh of the season with 41 seconds left in the second after Ondrej Palat was able to keep the puck in the zone to restore New Jersey’s two-goal lead.
Schmaltz pulled the Coyotes to 4-3 with his 19th at 1:29 of the third, and McBain tied it up from the slot with his ninth of the season with two minutes left.
Despite the total overhaul of the roster at the trade deadline, and being low in the standings to begin with, the Coyotes were able to get a point against a powerful New Jersey team.
“We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “We played fast (in the third period), we played with pace, we were in their face. We played the way we want to play and I’m proud of them.”
STREAK OVER
Dawson Mercer saw his franchise record-tying streak of eight consecutive games with a goal come to an end. Mercer, in his second season, has 21 goals this season. On Sunday, he missed on a shot on Ingram in the first period and was stopped in alone on Ingram in the second. Mercer did assist on Severson’s second period goal, giving him 16 points (10 goals) in his last nine games.
ICE CHIPS
Coyotes D Josh Brown (upper body injury) returned after missing three games with an upper-body injury. RW Christian Fischer, who missed his first game of the season Friday with an illness, came back to the Arizona lineup. … RW Curtis Lazar, acquired by New Jersey from Vancouver at the deadline, was scratched, as was the Coyotes’ Brett Ritchie, who was involved in a trade with Calgary that included Mackey arriving in Arizona and Brett’s brother Nick going to the Flames in the NHL’s first sibling swap.
NEXT
Devils: Host Toronto on Tuesday night.
Coyotes: Host St. Louis on Tuesday night. ___
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