Jack Hughes scores OT breakaway as Devils defeat Red Wings 5-4 at Little Caesars Arena

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

DETROIT — Jack Hughes scored on a breakaway at 1:19 of overtime to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday.

The decisive play came after a Detroit turnover in the Red Wings’ offensive zone. Hughes took a pass up the middle from Jesper Bratt and beat John Gibson to the blocker side.

Hughes also added two assists for New Jersey. Jesper Bratt recorded a goal and two assists, while Evan Rodrigues and Anthony Mantha each had a goal and an assist. Jake Allen made 23 saves for the Devils.

Detroit’s offense was powered by Alex DeBrincat, who finished with two goals and an assist. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Emmitt Finnie each added a goal and an assist for the Red Wings. John Gibson stopped 32 shots.

Rodrigues gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 6:07 of the first period. Stefan Noesen blocked Justin Faulk’s clearing attempt and found Rodrigues in the slot for Rodrigues’ first goal of the season.

Finnie answered for Detroit at 18:35, tying the game 1-1. He skated down the left wing and beat Allen with a wrist shot over his right shoulder from the face-off dot. The secondary assist on Finnie’s goal went to defenseman Anton Johansson, credited with his first NHL point.

Finnie then contributed to Detroit’s next lead late in the middle frame. At 1:43 of the second period, Finnie set up Brandsegg-Nygard, who finished off a 2-on-1 to make it 2-1 Red Wings.

Despite the deficit, New Jersey maintained a strong push throughout the early stretch of the game. The play that put Detroit ahead still came as the Devils were outshooting Detroit 18-4 at that point, according to the game recap.

Mantha pulled the Devils even 2-2 at 7:03 of the second period, scoring his first goal of the season. He took a cross-ice pass from Dawson Mercer and finished from the left side.

Nico Hischier put New Jersey ahead 3-2 with a power-play goal at 10:16 of the second period. Detroit responded by tying the game with help that involved miscommunication by the Devils.

In that sequence, Allen lost his goal stick. New Jersey cleared the zone, but none of Allen’s teammates retrieved the stick and returned it to him. On Detroit’s next possession, DeBrincat scored through traffic on a wrist shot at 15:10 to make it 3-3.

New Jersey regained the lead 4-3 on Bratt’s goal at 16:52 of the third period. DeBrincat then answered again at 5:46 with a one-timer from the left circle to tie the game 4-4.

With regulation ending tied, the teams played a full overtime before Hughes produced the winning goal on his breakaway at 1:19.

The win came after New Jersey had dropped a 4-1 decision at home to the Ottawa Senators on Monday, while Detroit entered the game carrying a 1-3-2 record, as reflected in the recap.

New Jersey improved with the overtime victory as Hughes and Bratt powered the scoring, and Allen kept the Red Wings in check with 23 saves. Gibson finished with 32 saves for Detroit in the high-scoring, back-and-forth matchup that ended 5-4.

Little Caesars Arena hosted the game on Tuesday, with the final goal arriving during overtime at 1:19, completing a four-goal swing for New Jersey that started with their first-period lead and ended with Hughes’ breakaway finish.