NEWARK, NJ - In a span of 44 seconds the Devils went from trailing the Minnesota Wild to taking the lead.
Tyler Toffoli and Erik Haula scored 44 seconds apart in the second period to shift the score from 2-2 to 3-2 and a lead the Devils hung on to the rest of the way.
The Wild made things dicey by scoring a late third-period goal from Jake Middleton, but the Devils hung on to defend a one-goal lead for the 4-3 victory.
There were some tense moments in the second period when the Devils were called for three penalties and the Minnesota power play was pressing. On two of the Wilds four power plays, the Devils failed to clear the zone for the full two minutes leaving players on the ice for over two minutes at a time. And yet, the work ethic and attention to detail shone, the penalty killers getting the job done, no matter how long their shifts lasted. New Jersey held the Wild to 1-for-6 on their man advantage.
John Marino logged the longest penalty kill shift of the evening lasting 2:16. Nathan Bastian and Kevin Bahl were not far behind at 2:14, and Curtis Lazar brought up the rear with a shift length of 2:12.
“You get caught out there for well over a minute and you get tired, but everyone is buying in and blocking shots," Marino said through a smirk, “Hopefully you get a few shifts off before you go back out there.”
New Jersey's penalty kill went 5-for-6.
"It’s tough for sure," Vitek Vanecek, who stopped 12 of 13 Minnesota power play shots, "It’s tough for me, it’s tough for them, but they never quit. That’s always huge. They’re blocking the shots for me and I’m really happy for that.”
Special teams played a big part in this win with the power play coming up strong going 2-for-3 (Bratt, Toffoli). With eight games played, New Jersey's power play leads the NHL at a 42.4 percent clip.
"It's our skill and it's our mindset," Bratt explained, "It's our way of winning pucks back and creating space for eachother and getting second opportunities. We're getting a good first one and then as soon as the puck is loose we're four or five guys on the puck right away to try to win it back. We're always trying to do all the work in their zone, instead of on the way back and breakout again.
"It's been working now," he continued, "We're just going to keep being creative and hard on pucks to evolve."
Jesper Bratt added two goals for New Jersey, including the opening goal of the game, and had a goal wiped off the board on an off-side play.
The Devils closed out their three-game homestand 2-1-0.
Pat Maroon and Ryan Hartman also scored for the Wild.
