By Canadian Press

Zetterlund, Wood score in third, Devils ground Jets 4-2

Feb 19, 2023 | 7:01 PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Fabian Zetterlund and Miles Wood scored in a two-minute span of the third period and Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves as the New Jersey Devils rallied to beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2 on Sunday night.

The Jets led 2-1 heading into the third period on the strength of first-period goals by Cole Perfetti and Neal Pionk. The Devils rallied with three goals in the third and extended their home winning streak to six games. 

Zetterlund scored his sixth at 5:02 to tie the game, before Wood beat Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck for his ninth at 6:53 to give New Jersey the lead. Michael McLeod and Jesper Boqvist assisted on Wood’s go-ahead goal.

Dawson Mercer scored twice for the Devils, including an empty-netter. Erik Haula added two assists for the Devils, who were coming off a 5-2 road win over Pittsburgh on Saturday. New Jersey is 21-4-3 on the road and 16-10-2 at home. 

Mark Scheifele had two assists for the Jets, who had won six straight games at Prudential Center and hadn’t lost in regulation in Newark since 2012 — with an 8-0-2 record over that span entering Sunday’s game. 

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Perfetti opened the scoring at 14:57 of the first, picking up a rebound and scoring past Blackwood for his eighth goal. The 21-year-old forward has 30 points overall in his second NHL season.

The Devils answered quickly at 15:16 when Mercer scored off assists from Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton.

Pionk put Winnipeg ahead 2-1 at 17:09, blasting the puck from the point past Blackwood for his eighth. 

The Devils dominated the second and had their best chance to tie with just over five minutes left when Jesper Bratt broke in alone on Hellebuyck, but hit the post. New Jersey had another chance in the waning seconds of the middle period, but Hellebuyck poked the puck off the stick of a charging Zetterlund.

Mercer added his 15th goal into an empty net at 19:04 of the third. 

Hellebuyck fell to 6-2-1 in his career against the Devils.

The Jets, who were coming off a 3-1 loss at Columbus on Thursday that ended a three-game winning streak, remained three points behind first-place Dallas in the Central Division.

NOTES

Winnipeg hasn’t won a division title since moving from Atlanta for the 2011-12 season. They have finished second three times, 2012-13, 2017-18 and 2018-19. … The Devils scratched defenceman Kevin Bahl and forward Nathan Bastian. … The Jets scratched forward Sam Gagner plus defencemen Logan Stanley and Kyle Capobianco. … The teams meet again April 2 in Winnipeg. 

UP NEXT 

Devils: Host Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

Jets: Visiting New York Rangers on Monday.

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

Allan Kreda, The Associated Press