Daws allowed shootout goals from Rakell and Anthony Beauvillier, but made saves on Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Hayes, Kris Letang and Cody Glass.
“Felt really good,” Daws said. “A lot of confidence I had, which is a nice feeling. Everybody played great around me. So, at the end of the day, it’s just nice to get the two points.”
Hughes put New Jersey ahead 1-0 at 19:43 of the first period after Bratt tapped a loose puck in off him in the crease.
The goal came after Rakell seemed to give Pittsburgh a lead on a power play, but it was waved off because he used a kicking motion on a pass from Crosby.
Hughes made it 2-0 at 9:14 of the second period with a one-timer from the right face-off circle set up by Bratt.
Rakell cut it to 2-1 at 14:56 with a wraparound at the left post. He was added to Sweden for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Tuesday as an injury replacement.
“I thought that we fought hard, hard the whole game,” Rakell said. “I thought that we pushed hard the whole game. We had good looks in overtime and I think this was probably one of the better games against this team that we've, I guess, struggled with in the past. So, obviously it hurts not getting the two points.”
Hayes tied it 2-2 at 7:53 of the third period with a one-timer from the slot.
“I thought we were out of gas a little bit, especially at the backend in that third period,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I liked our game, liked what we did to build the 2-0 lead to begin with. Would’ve been nice to get the third one. ... But yeah, a lot of resilience. Guys are battling, guys are tired.”
Crosby, who will be the captain for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off, left following a collision early in the third but returned after several minutes. He had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (four goals, three assists), but his goal streak ended at four.
“That’s not an easy loss when you lose a guy like that for a period of time,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Obviously, he means so much to this team in so many ways. He’s the heartbeat of the group. I thought the guys competed hard (in Crosby’s absence).”
NOTES: Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler did not return after falling along the boards at 8:45 of the first period. Siegenthaler will miss time, Keefe said, but needs to be evaluated to determine the severity. ... New Jersey forward Erik Haula had three shots on goal in 16:28 of ice time in his return after missing 12 games with an ankle injury. He will play for Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off. ... Pittsburgh defenseman Matt Grzelcyk had two shots on goal in 24:32 in his 500th NHL game.