New Jersey tied it 1-1 at 7:34. Arseny Gritsyuk played his own rebound off the end boards, circled the net and passed to Mercer, who scored on a wrist shot from the low slot. The goal was Mercer’s first in 17 games.
Hall gave Carolina a 2-1 lead at 7:47 of the second period. Hall pursued Hughes on the forecheck and poked the puck off the New Jersey defenseman’s stick at the top of the crease and inside the left post.
“It is what it is,” Hughes said. “I’m proud of the way the guys played today. I’ve just got to be better. Next shift mentality. Just got to get back to my game and make plays.”
New Jersey appeared to score the tying goal at 3:01 of the third period when Jack Hughes’ shot landed behind Bussi in the crease and eventually crossed the goal line. But video review supported the call on ice that the net was off its moorings before crossing the goal line.
Stankoven extended the lead to 3-1 at 12:16 of the third period. Hall stripped the puck from Allen behind the Devils net and passed to Stankoven alone in front, where he scored five-hole as Allen scrambled back to the crease.
“‘Hallsy’ there with the great pressure,” Stankoven said. “I thought he was going to pass it right away, but he held onto it. He ended up feeding it to me, and I could put it in five-hole. So that was a good feeling.”
It was Hall’s third multi-point game of the season.
“He put some puck pressure on, and he got rewarded,” Brind’Amour said. “I don’t want to call them freebies, but if it wasn’t for his speed and him getting in there, it wouldn’t have happened. Got to give him credit there.”
Bussi is 14-2-1 in his first season in the NHL. He was sharp throughout the game, including a sequence early in the third period when he stopped a redirection by Nico Hischier and the rebound by Stefan Noesen during a New Jersey power play.
“Overall, you could just tell we had a little more desperation tonight, a hunger,” Bussi said. “Over an 82-game season, it’s a grind. It was kind of a nice reset. This was the start of the second half, a good opportunity to get off on the right foot.”
The 27-year-old allowed six goals on 22 shots in a 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
“The other night was not great. He let in a bunch of not-good ones,” Brind’Amour said. “And it’s ‘how are you going to respond?’ And obviously he did. That says a lot about him. It’s been a big part of this year so far.”
NOTES: Hischier won 18-of-29 face-offs. … Forward Noah Philp played 10:48 in his Carolina debut with one shot on goal and two hits. He was claimed off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
