Schneider losing streak ends when Devils rally to defeat Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Cory Schneider earned his first regular-season win in nearly 14 months when the New Jersey Devils rallied from down three goals for a 5-4 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Friday.

Schneider made 15 saves in relief for New Jersey and ended his regular-season losing streak at 21 (0-17-4). He had not won a game since Dec. 27, 2017, and was 0-7-2 this season.
"Sometimes things happen in a strange way, but I was more excited for our team just to show some mettle and to come back and win a tough game after a tough trip," Schneider said. "I think it was really important for us, and I thought the guys really dug in and deserved it, so it was nice to see us get rewarded as a group.
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Wild highlights]
"For anybody who knows me, I'm not overly emotional one way or another. I think everyone else was more excited about it than I was. For me, it's obviously relief, but, you know, it's my job, it's what I'm supposed to do. I wish it happened a lot more recently, but it's good to get it. Everyone in this room's been awesome with me, just encouraging me and supporting me and keeping me up, so hopefully I can return the favor and just start playing some really good hockey consistently and get some more wins."
Nico Hischier scored at 3:19 of overtime for the Devils (22-28-8), who avoided a third straight loss and won for the second time in seven games.

New Jersey, which was outscored 13-5 in losses to the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks in the first two of its three-game road trip, is 15 points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Mikael Granlund and Brad Hunt each had a goal and an assist for the Wild (27-25-6), who surrendered a two-goal lead in a 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
"I think it's disappointing for all of us," said Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk, who made 23 saves. "For me, you're used to keeping the score as is and keeping the puck out, you keep it 4-1 going into the third and cruise through the third period. But it just seems to be the way it's going right now, they're finding their way in. It's frustrating. We probably deserved four points out of the last two games, and we only got one. Gotta find a way. I don't know what else to say."
The Wild, who have lost three games in a row and are 1-5-2 in the past eight, their only win a 4-2 victory at the Devils on Feb. 9, lead the Vancouver Canucks by one point for the second wild card into the playoffs in the Western Conference.
Granlund gave Minnesota a 4-1 lead at 7:19 of the second period, chasing New Jersey starting goalie Keith Kinkaid from the game.
After an apparent goal by Devils defenseman Damon Severson at 11:05 of the second was waved off because he played the puck with a high stick, Will Butcher made it 4-2 when he scored with 1:50 remaining in the period.
Kyle Palmieri scored on the power play at 8:16 of the third period to make it 4-3, and Ben Lovejoy scored his second of the season to tie it 4-4 at 17:15.
Hunt scored on the power play at 6:07 of the first period to give the Wild a 1-0 lead, and Joel Eriksson Ek capitalized on a turnover by Kinkaid (13 saves) behind the Devils net to make it 2-0 at 9:55.
Marcus Johansson got New Jersey to within 2-1 26 seconds into the second period with a one-timer that went in off Dubnyk, but Nick Seeler scored to restore a two-goal lead for Minnesota at 2:33.

They said it

"I think you can see by the reaction of the guys, it was the first thing they were saying on the bench. It wasn't even so much that we won, it was that (goalie) Cory [Schneider] won. Sometimes that's what has to happen. He wound up coming [into the game] in relief, and he was certainly prepared to play, and it was nice to see him get that monkey off his back. I think he has played pretty well as of late. I think that's a really strong first step to help him continue to get back to where we need him to be." -- Devils coach John Hynes on Schneider's first win in 22 decisions dating to Dec. 27, 2017
"They weren't good goals. [Goalie Devan Dubnyk] will be the first one to tell you. … He's too good a goalie to be allowing that and having his confidence shaken this much. I don't know what to say."-- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on allowing four straight goals

Need to know

Hischier, who had an assist on Butcher's goal, has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past four games and 10 (four goals, six assists) in his past nine games. … The Devils have won their past four games against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. … Eriksson Ek has three goals and an assist five games since being recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League.

What's next

Devils: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; MSG-B, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Wild: Host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, SN)