NEWARK, N.J. - Jesper Bratt scored on a breakaway with 3:34 remaining in overtime to give the Devils a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues tonight at Prudential Center.

New Jersey built a 4-1 lead through two periods, but the Blues struck three times in the third to erase the deficit and force overtime before Bratt delivered the winner.

"Two points are great, but you don't leave this one feeling very good," Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We made our own bed in this one and got what we deserved, I believe, in terms of how we handled the game."

After a strong territorial start, the Devils opened the scoring 7:34 into the game. Luke Hughes wired a wrist shot from the left point that beat a screened Jordan Binnington through the five-hole.

New Jersey had an early power-play opportunity after the Blues were called for hooking just over three minutes in, but was unable to convert.

After one, shots on goal were 16-4 for the Devils.

Despite the lopsided opening period, Keefe felt the Devils got away from the details that had contributed to their recent success.

"We just started making it up and tried to see how cool we could be," Keefe said. "And yeah, that's not winning hockey."

Nico Hischier was decked early in the second period by Jake Neighbours and Timo Meier came in to drop the gloves with him in a spirited fight. Meier received two minutes for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct in addition to the fighting major, giving the Blues their first man advantage of the night.

The Blues carried a territorial edge in the first half of the second period and outshot the Devils 7-3 during that stretch.

It was New Jersey, however, who scored with 7:58 to play in the middle frame. Anthony Mantha worked a nice give-and-go with Jack Hughes, tapping the puck in the slot neatly past Binnington to make it 2-0.

"If you give it to Jack, you know he'll try and give it back," Mantha said. "He has that play-making skills, and everyone knows about it."

With Amadeus Lombardi in the box for slashing, the Blues scored their first of the night on the power play. Mason McTavish threaded a backhand pass through the crease to Robert Thomas, who one-timed it in.

Jesper Boqvist scored a highlight-reel goal, deking out the Blues netminder from close range after getting a nice feed from Luke Hughes.

Just 19 seconds later, Mantha got a breakaway and tucked it five-hole to put the Devils in front 4-1.

The two goals capped a three-point period for Mantha, who also assisted on Boqvist's tally.

"I thought he had a couple really good moments, and those were goal scorer's goals," Keefe said. "They're clearly a very important part of the game."

Shots were 16-9 in favor of the Blues in the second, but the Devils outshot St. Louis 25-20 after 40 minutes.

The Blues drew within two goals with 8:14 to go in the third. McTavish picked up a rebound in front and put it past Hellebuyck.

Less than three minutes later, the Blues struck for two goals just 18 seconds apart. Philip Broberg netted one off the rush before Dalibor Dvorsky took advantage of a miscue with Hellebuyck behind the net to tie the game at 4-4.

Bratt acknowledged the third period was a departure from the way the Devils had been closing out games recently.

"We felt like we weren't really emotionally engaged in that third period," Bratt said. "We didn't get the pucks out. We were kind of cheating a little bit on some pucks when they stayed in the zone. And I think they were just a lot hungrier than us in that third period."

Hellebuyck agreed that New Jersey had moved away from the approach that had made it successful earlier in the game.

"We were playing a little too defensively, chipping pucks out and not really sustaining pressure," Hellebuyck said. "I feel like we have legs and we have puck control, so that's what we need to stick to."

Keefe called a timeout following the Blues' tying goal, looking to settle the group with just over five minutes remaining.

"We acknowledge that we got what we deserved. We put ourselves in this situation for that to occur," Keefe said of his message. "We had to then regroup. There's five minutes left. Now we're in a situation where you need to get the point."

The Devils had a late power-play opportunity but were unable to convert, sending the game into overtime.

Shots on goal at the end of regulation were 35-31 in favor of New Jersey.

Overtime didn't last long. Dougie Hamilton broke up a St. Louis odd-man opportunity before sending Bratt away on a breakaway. Bratt made no mistake, beating Binnington just 1:26 into the extra frame to give New Jersey the 5-4 victory.

"Obviously, I had a lot of time to think on a breakaway like that in the overtime compared to five on five," Bratt said. "Just try to make him move ... I tried it out, and it worked for me as well."

While the finish secured New Jersey's sixth consecutive home victory, the players recognized there were lessons to take from the night.

"These are the lessons that you want to learn early," Hellebuyck said. "These are going to pay dividends in your playoff time."

Here are some observations from the game:

• Luke Hughes has found his scoring touch early this season. After going without a goal through his first 15 games last year, the Devils defenseman has already scored six times through his first 16 games this season. Hughes entered tonight among the NHL's leading goal scorers from the blue line. He also added an assist on Jesper Boqvist's goal, giving him a multi-point performance. "I think my overall game has grown throughout my four years and I'm happy with my start this year," Hughes said.

• Anthony Mantha had a three-point night with two goals and an assist, with all three points coming during New Jersey's three-goal second period. Interestingly, his first goal came while he was skating alongside Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, a combination necessitated by Meier's extended stay in the penalty box. Keefe explained that the team was rotating its left wings to compensate for Meier's absence and Mantha capitalized on the opportunity.

• Jesper Boqvist scored his fifth goal of the season just two nights after appearing in his 400th career NHL game against Edmonton. The goal, which came on a nifty move in tight against Binnington, matched his goal total from the entire 2025-26 season.

• The fight between Timo Meier and Jake Neighbours prompted an interesting discussion from Keefe about how instigator penalties are assessed following big hits. While Meier received the additional penalty and misconduct for coming to Hischier's defense, Keefe pointed to a broader trend around the league where the player delivering the hit is sometimes the one who actually initiates the ensuing fight.

"The guy who threw the hit oftentimes is actually the first one to get his gloves off and throw the first punch," Keefe said. 

He explained that players delivering big hits increasingly anticipate having to fight, sometimes initiating the confrontation themselves, even though the opposing player is assessed the instigator penalty. Keefe said he would never fault a player for responding when his captain takes a hit like that, although losing Meier for 17 minutes was difficult.

• Bratt also praised Meier's response, saying it provided an immediate energy boost to the team and demonstrated why the forward is so highly respected in the dressing room.

• Early in the third period, Jonas Siegenthaler was hit awkwardly into the boards from behind by Ross Johnston in the corner of the Devils zone and struggled to get back to his feet. He went to the room but returned about five minutes later. Declan Chisholm also gave the Devils an injury scare when he took a puck to the face eight minutes into the final frame. Chisholm went to the room shortly after Siegenthaler returned but was also able to return to the game.

• In a showdown of two 2026 Olympians, Binnington made an unbelievable save on Jack Hughes after Hughes broke in alone on the Blues goaltender. The two were on opposite sides of one of the most memorable moments from the Milano Cortina Olympics in February, when Hughes beat Binnington five-hole in overtime to give the United States the gold medal over Canada. This time, Binnington got the better of the exchange.

• Keefe acknowledged afterward that his third-period timeout probably came one goal too late. The Devils coach had been anticipating an upcoming television timeout and was hoping his group could get to that stoppage before using his own. Instead, the Blues scored twice in 18 seconds to erase the remaining two-goal deficit. Keefe said his message during the timeout was to recognize the urgency of the situation, secure at least one point and give the team an opportunity to earn the second.

• Connor Hellebuyck faced his heaviest workload yet as a Devil, turning aside 28 of 32 shots to improve to 4-0-0 since joining New Jersey. Keefe felt the team relied too heavily on its goaltender in the second period and into the third, suggesting the workload contributed to the difficult final frame. Hellebuyck acknowledged making a couple of mistakes but also credited St. Louis for continuing to push. "We had some good stretches, we had some tough stretches, and I made a couple mistakes tonight, but we got the two points," he said.

• Bratt's overtime winner was the fourth of his NHL career and extended New Jersey's winning streak on home ice to six games. Despite the Blues' third-period comeback, Hellebuyck appreciated the way the Prudential Center crowd responded. "Instead of letting the building get silent and lose momentum, I thought they really brought it, especially when we needed it most," he said.