Mercer was part of the blockbuster trade that sent goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to the Devils on Oct. 23. Hellebuyck, who had requested a trade from Winnipeg and was suspended by the team after not reporting to training camp, did not play in the loss in front of his former fans, though, per a decision by coach Sheldon Keefe and general manager Sunny Mehta.
Mercer put the Jets in front 3-2 with 8:02 remaining in the third, scoring from the bottom edge of the left face-off circle off a backhand pass through the crease by Alex Iafallo.
Kyle Connor also scored twice, and Nico Daws, who was acquired along with Mercer in the Hellebuyck trade, made 19 saves for his first win with the Jets (8-8-3). Cole Perfetti had two assists.
Jesper Bratt and Cody Glass scored, and Jake Allen made 21 saves for the Devils (13-6-0), who had won five straight.
Mercer made it 1-0 Jets at 7:54 of the first period. He circled from the corner to the high slot and quickly turned and fired a wrist shot through traffic that beat Allen’s blocker.
Connor pushed it to 2-0 at 15:06 on the power play when his shot went in off the skate of New Jersey defenseman Brenden Dillon.
The Devils then scored twice in 44 seconds to tie the game early in the second period.
Bratt cut the deficit to 2-1 at 1:14 after Arseny Gritsyuk won a battle behind the net and fed a one-handed no-look pass to Bratt, who scored with a one-timer from the bottom edge of the left circle.
Glass evened the score 2-2 at 1:58, beating Daws glove side when he deflected Johnathan Kovacevic's wrist shot from above the right circle.
Connor scored his second goal of the game when he shot it into an empty net at 19:02 for the 4-2 final.
Kovacevic left the game with 4:24 remaining in the second period with an apparent lower-body injury after he collided with Winnipeg defenseman Tyrel Bauer, who was issued a minor penalty for interference.
