Timo Meier scored twice to boost his goal total to 10 in his past 10 games, lifting the New Jersey Devils to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday in Newark, N.J.
Dawson Mercer also tallied twice, Alexander Holtz scored a goal and Jake Allen made 36 saves as the Devils (33-32-4, 70 points) recorded their seventh straight victory over Pittsburgh.
Marcus Pettersson and Bryan Rust each scored a goal for the Penguins (30-29-9, 69 points), who have lost nine of their last 12 games overall (3-8-1) and six in a row on the road (0-5-1).
New Jersey made Pittsburgh pay for Evgeni Malkin’s second-period hooking penalty on Jack Hughes.
Devils defenseman Luke Hughes unleashed a blast from above the left circle that Meier deflected past Tristan Jarry (33 saves) to give the Devils a 2-1 lead with 5:40 remaining in the middle frame. Meier logged his 20th of the campaign, making him the third Swiss-born player to record at least six 20-goal seasons — joining Nino Niederreiter (seven times) and Kevin Fiala (six).
New Jersey extended its lead to 4-1 after scoring twice in 16 seconds during the third period. Holtz cleaned up a rebound at 8:58, and Mercer converted at the right post for his second goal of the night.
Meier batted home a loose puck following a shot from Jesper Bratt to give the Devils a 5-1 lead on a power play with 3:07 left in the third period.
Rust capped the scoring at 17:15 off an assist from Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
Mercer skated through the seam and gained inside position on former Devils defenseman Ryan Graves before backhanding the puck between Jarry’s pads to open the scoring at 5:35 of the first period.
Allen preserved the slim advantage by making a pair of stellar saves late in the first period. He extended his paddle to thwart Crosby on the doorstep and used the knob of his stick to deny Pettersson’s wrist shot moments later.
Pettersson got his revenge by wiring a shot from the point past a screened Allen to forge a 1-1 tie at 7:16 of the second period.
–Field Level Media