GAME STORY: Devils 4, Bruins 3 (OT)

NEWARK, N.J.- If there is one definitive characteristic of the 2020-21 New Jersey Devils, it's that no matter the situation, no matter the score, no matter the adversity, this team does not quit.
Never.
Ever.
So, it's only fitting that their defining trait was on full display as they completed their home slate of games on the season by erasing 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in an eventual 4-3 come-from-behind overtime victory against Boston Tuesday night at Prudential Center.

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WHAT'S NEXT
The Devils head to Long Island to face the New York Islanders Thursday. You can watch on MSG+ 2 and listen on the Devils Hockey Network,
including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com.
Game time is 7:08 PM ET.
"One thing that's been evident all year long is that we battle back, we battle hard," Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said. "We've been down in games and there's never been any quit. We've fought hard from behind. That's all you can ask out of your team.
"There's never been any quit. That's a great attitude for young players."
Winger Pavel Zacha, 24, bookended the scoring, tallying the game's first goal on a power play and finishing the contest with nasty backhander in the extra period while on a delayed penalty call. Zacha set new career highs in goals (15) and points (33).
Forwards Jesper Boqvist and Yegor Sharangovich scored third-period goals that forced this game into overtime.
The Bruins had goals from Patrice Bergeron, Taylor Hall and Sean Kuraly.
The Devils finished with a 5-1-2 series record against the Bruins on the year. New Jersey improved to 4-1-1 in its past six games. The Devils finished the year with a 7-18-3 mark at home, but were 3-1 in their final four home games on the year.
"It's a good win for our fans," said center Jack Hughes, who had two assists. "It's our last home game. It leaves them with a good taste in their mouths. It's a good win for us, and we're happy we can do that in our last home game."
Here are some other observations from the game…
* Sharangovich's shot just appears more and more impressive every time he releases it. This time, he was waiting at the blue line and caught a stretch pass from Damon Severon. He hopped around a flat-footed Mike Reilly and ripped a shot far side that tied the game at 3-3 with 7:19 left in regulation.
Sharangovich now has five goals and six points in his past five games.
* A pivotal moment in the game occurred during a Bruins power play late in the second period. Boston had just scored a goal from Hall that gave them a 2-1 lead. The Devils coaches challenged the goal for goaltender interference. The challenge failed and the club was assessed a penalty. It was a potential two-goal swing.
Instead, goalie Mackenzie Blackwood shut things down to keep it a one-goal game and allowed the Devils to tie the game the third period. Blackwood made a clutch save sliding to his left on a cross-ice feed to Brad Marchand, who whipped the puck on net. A Marchand goal there and the game is over. But Blackwood made the key save at the key time to keep it a competitive contest.
"We knew we were going to need some big saves and that's what 'Blacky' did for us," Ruff said. "He gave us those big saves at the right time and allowed us the opportunity to tie the game up and eventually win it."
* New Jersey initially tied the game at 2-2 thanks to Bosqvist's fourth goal of the season. It was the result of going to the blue paint. That's it. That's the tweet.
Damon Severson's shot hit a player in front and the puck slipped right to the stick of Boqvist, who lifted it beyond the outstretched pad of goalie Jaroslav Halak.
* The Devils' were the aggressors early in the game. And with their attacking mentality and execution on breakout passes, the Bruins were caught backpedaling and often out of position. That led to the Bruins taking three consecutive penalties in the first period (interference, slashing, tripping).
The Devils had a brief 5-on-3 advantage. And I emphasize brief. It was three seconds. But the Devils used all three seconds to their advantage. Nico Hischier won an offensive zone faceoff and got the puck to Jack Hughes, who went across to Zacha for the one-timer goal. It was Zacha's career-best tying 14th tally of the season. The entire play took three seconds and the goal was scored as the first penalty was expiring.
* Monday and Tuesday couldn't have had more different starts. In Monday's contest, the Devils didn't register their first shot on goal until 8:26 into the first period, and would be outshot severely, 16-1, late in that frame. New Jersey just wasn't ready to play at the start.
Fast forward to Tuesday night's start. The Devils picked up their first shot on goal just 36 seconds into the contest. They followed that by registering seven of the game's first nine shots, drawing three penalties and scoring a power-play goal. What a difference 24 hours can make.
* About that start, the Bruins obviously started with their "Perfection Line" of Bergeron, Marchand and David Pastrnak. Interestingly, and with the last change, the Devils countered with the BMW Line of Nathan Bastian, Michael McLeod and Miles Wood.
The call seemed to work. The BMW Line had a lot of jump from the drop of the puck and set the tone early, making a statement that Tuesday's game would not be like Monday.
* It was another strong performance from Blackwood, who also had big stops on point-blank shots from Nick Ritchie, David Krejci and Charlie Coyle. All of those shots were from within eight-feet away.
* There were two scary plays during the game. In the first period Blackwood was clipped in the neck from the stick of Coyle as the Bruin fell to the ice. Late in the second period Hughes lost an edge and crashed head-first into the boards. Both players finished the game.
"I'm feeling good. I'm lucky it wasn't anything serious. I'm feeling better now," Hughes said after the game. "We'll see how I feel tomorrow. It could have been much worse. I'm lucky I could get back out there and was able to play."
Hughes showed some guts and leadership by returning. He could have just been cautious and opted to not play a the final period of a game that had no significance in the standings. Instead, he came back to help his team storm back and snatched a W.