{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
New Jersey 4, Ottawa 3
When: 5:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 29, 2019
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees: Chris Lee, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Ryan Galloway
Attendance: 14005

Rookie Jack Hughes scored on a breakaway 54 seconds into overtime as the visiting New Jersey Devils skated to a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

Kyle Palmieri's clearing pass hit Hughes in stride near center ice. Hughes, the top pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, easily eluded the Senators' Jean-Gabriel Pageau and shuffled the puck before beating Craig Anderson for his first career NHL overtime goal.

Nico Hischier, Nikita Gusev and Miles Wood also scored for the Devils, who have collected points in five of their last seven games (4-2-1). Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves.

Nick Paul, Artem Anisimov and defenseman Thomas Chabot scored for the Senators, who recorded a point for the fifth straight game (2-0-3) and for the seventh time in eight contests (3-1-4). Anderson finished with 30 saves.

Hischier was heavily involved in the sequence that ended with him scoring the game's first goal shortly before the midway point of the first period. Hischier's shot on net bounced off the boards and caromed to Damon Severson, who dished to Sami Vatanen as Hischier positioned himself in front of the net with Palmieri as well as Senators defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Chabot. Vatanen's shot then ticked off the stick of Hischier and fluttered past Anderson at the 8:58 mark.

The teams traded four goals in a span of just under 10 minutes in the second. Senators left winger Anthony Duclair won a battle for the puck in the neutral zone and sent a clearing pass to Paul, who shuffled the puck as he approached Blackwood before firing a shot between his pads at 8:39.

Anisimov began and ended the sequence that resulted with him scoring the go-ahead goal fewer than five minutes later. After winning a faceoff in the Devils' zone with Pavel Zacha, Anisimov went to the front of the net, where he got a stick on a shot by Andreas Englund. Blackwood turned back that attempt, but Anisimov jabbed at the rebound, with the puck bouncing off the post and Blackwood's skate before trickling into the net with 6:32 left.

The Senators were whistled for a pair of penalties in a 17-second span to set up the Devils' game-tying 5-on-3 goal. Gusev, near the goal line to the right of Anderson, evened the score by firing a shot under the goaltender's arm with 4:48 remaining.

Wayne Simmonds' clearing pass from the Devils' zone set up an unlikely breakaway for Wood, who sprinted past the Senators' Mark Borowiecki and Cody Goloubef. Wood's first shot was deflected by Anderson, but the left winger immediately put home the rebound with two minutes left.

Chabot forced overtime with 4:58 left in regulation after his shot from the blue line sailed past Blackwood, who was screened by two players from each team.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Ottawa
Sami Vatanen 3 Points Artem Anisimov 1
Jack Hughes 1 Goals Artem Anisimov 1
Sami Vatanen 3 Assists Anthony Duclair 1
Nikita Gusev 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Mackenzie Blackwood .870 Save Percentage Craig Anderson .882
Mackenzie Blackwood 20 Saves Craig Anderson 30
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 34 4 2-4 3-3 23 26
Ottawa 23 3 0-3 2-4 15 29
Upcoming Games
  • Ottawa will play their next game on the road against Pittsburgh. The Senators have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .522 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Boston. The Devils have a W/L % of .308 after a win and .360 after a loss.