Devils Rally Past Red Wings 5-3, Send Detroit to Miss Playoffs Again

The New Jersey Devils defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday to eliminate Detroit from Stanley Cup Playoff contention. Jack Hughes led the Devils with a goal and two assists while Jesper Bratt tallied two goals and an assist. The Red Wings led 3-2 in the third period but couldn’t hold on as New Jersey scored the final three goals.

Detroit took a 1-0 lead at 9:41 of the first period when Justin Faulk converted a pass from Dylan Larkin with a wrist shot through the five-hole. But Hughes answered for the Devils just 59 seconds later with a 27th goal of the season from the right face-off dot.

The Red Wings regained the lead in the second period when David Perron scored at 11:59 with a one-timer off a pass from Johnathan Kovacevic. Bratt tied the game at 15:16 with a 21st goal of his season, beating John Gibson with a long shot through traffic.

Detroit extended its lead in the third when Emmitt Finnie scored at 7:00 in a goal-mouth scramble. But the lead didn’t last long. Cody Glass tied the game at 11:18 with a rebound finish, and Hughes set up Bratt for the go-ahead goal at 16:26.

The Devils sealed the win with 30 seconds left when Dawson Mercer scored into the empty net. Jake Allen stopped 25 of 28 shots in the win, while Gibson made 27 saves in the loss.

Detroit has now lost six of its last eight games and finishes the season at 41-30-9. The Red Wings have not made the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons. New Jersey improves to 41-36-3 and ends a two-game losing streak.

With less than a week remaining in the regular season, the playoff races in both conferences remain tight. The Devils will look to close the season strong as they head into their next game on Sunday.