Devils rally past Sharks in shootout for 7th straight road win

SAN JOSE -- Jack Hughes scored the tying goal with 10 seconds left in the third period, and the New Jersey Devils came from behind for a 4-3 shootout win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Monday.

Nico Hischier had a goal and an assist, and Ondrej Palat had two assists for the Devils (29-12-3), who have won five straight overall and seven straight on the road. Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves, and Tomas Tatar scored the only goal in the shootout.
"It was an awful way to win, but that's what good teams do," Tatar said. "Obviously, we had to overcome the fatigue. It's the third game in four nights, and we didn't get much rest."
Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier each had a goal and an assist, and Michael Eyssimont had two assists for the Sharks (13-23-9), who are 2-6-2 in their past 10 games. James Reimer made 38 saves.
"A loss is a loss and it's not something to be happy about," Eyssimont said. "Whether you lose in a shootout or regulation, it's tough to get in your car and stomach it. It [stinks]. But tonight I think we can look at ourselves and say that we did some good things and we played hard."
Hughes made it 3-3 when his shot from high in the left face-off circle redirected off Karlsson's stick in front.
"That one feels good, especially after we slept in the first but battled back, and at the end, I still feel we deserved it," said Hischier, the Devils captain.

Ryan Graves put New Jersey ahead 1-0 at 29 seconds of the first period, scoring with a wrist shot on a 2-on-1 during the Devils' first shift.
"The thing I loved is that we kept playing," Sharks coach David Quinn said. "We didn't let that get us down after what happened two nights ago (7-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers). So I give our guys a lot of credit."
The game was paused at 16:01 of the first so that the kickplate on a door behind the San Jose net could be repaired. The teams left the ice and, after an intermission, played the final 3:59 of the first before switching sides and beginning the second period.
"I [have] actually seen a lot of stuff through my career, but you know, we were thinking how long it will take [to fix], but they were super fast," Tatar said of the pause, which was about 20 minutes. "They made it very easy."
After play resumed, Meier tied it 1-1 at 16:44 with a one-timer at the side of the net off a pass from Eyssimont.
Karlsson put San Jose ahead 2-1 on the power play at 19:56 with a point shot through traffic.
"I didn't think we started playing until the game was 2-1," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "[We] just had to find a way to win. Obviously we got a little bit of a lucky break with the tying goal. But we weren't very good early in the first 25 minutes."

Hischier tied it 2-2 at 11 seconds of the third period after Palat set him up for a one-timer from between the circles.
Nick Bonino gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 5:56, four seconds after a San Jose power play expired. He scored with a spinning shot in the slow slot on the rebound of a shot by Eyssimont.
NOTES: It was New Jersey's 14th comeback victory of the season, tying the Tampa Bay Lightning for the NHL lead. ... The Devils have won the first four of a five-game road trip that ends at the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. They have the most road wins in the NHL (18-2-1). … Hughes' goal was the second-latest tying goal in a Devils win in their history; Travis Zajac scored with one second left in the third during a 4-3 shootout victory against the Lightning on Oct. 8, 2009. … San Jose forward Kevin Labanc was a healthy scratch.