By Canadian Press

Bratt’s overtime winner carries Devils past Penguins, 2-1

Mar 21, 2021 | 1:43 PM

PITTSBURGH — Jesper Bratt scored on a wraparound at 2:50 of overtime and the New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Sunday.

Bratt took a pass from Pavel Zacha and quickly circled the net, tucking a shot between the post and the skate of Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry.

The Devils won for the third time in four games. They won for the second time in three games against Pittsburgh since Sunday’s game was the third consecutive meeting between the teams. The Devils had three wins in their previous 13 games before Sunday.

Bratt scored his second of the season and continued a four-game point streak, while Sami Vatanen also scored his second of the season for New Jersey. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 35 shots for the Devils. He played his first game since aggravating an upper-body injury during warmups on Thursday.

Sidney Crosby scored his 12th of the season for Pittsburgh. The Penguins lost for the third time in four games, following a six-game win streak. Jarry made 33 saves for Pittsburgh.

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Crosby opened the scoring at 3:37 of the first period. He was near the goal line when he took a cross-ice pass from Jake Guentzel and snuck a shot between Blackwood’s outstretched skate and the post.

Vatanen tied the game at 4:48 of the second period. The Devils swarmed the Pittsburgh net following a power play and Vatanen converted when his slap shot beat Jarry to the glove side. Vatanen, who is one point from 200 in the NHL, has points in three of his past four games.

BACK-TO-BACK DEVILS

The Devils played their sixth of 11 back-to-back sets on Sunday. They are winless in the first six games (0-6-0), but improved to 3-2-1 in the second game following Sunday’s overtime win.

CROSBY COMING THROUGH

Crosby has stepped up with Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup, with a lower-body injury.

Crosby has 62 goals and 176 points in 145 games played without Malkin. Last season, Crosby had six goals and 18 points in 12 games without Malkin. This season, Crosby has one goal and three points in three games without Malkin, who had an eight-game scoring streak before sustaining his injury last Tuesday against Boston.

Pittsburgh has been without winger Jason Zucker since Feb. 23. The Penguins also recently lost centre Teddy Blueger in the last week, while forward Brandon Tanev missed his second straight game on Sunday.

UP NEXT

New Jersey continues a six-game road trip Tuesday at Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh closes the month with four home games, starting Wednesday against Buffalo.

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More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Dan Scifo, The Associated Press