The New Jersey Devils are among the best teams in the NHL at producing comeback wins — and it is a topic coach Lindy Ruff is tired of hearing about.
Coming off a second straight comeback, Ruff is hoping to see his team get off to a quicker start Friday night when the Devils visit the Ottawa Senators.
The Devils are seeking their fourth three-game winning streak of the season after rallying for one-goal home wins over the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets.
On Saturday, the Devils overcame a pair of one-goal deficits for a 3-2 win. It happened again during Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win, as they overcame three one-goal deficits. Luke Hughes scored on an end-to-end rush with 1:25 left in regulation and Timo Meier netted the game-winner by finishing off a breakaway 2:12 into overtime.
“It’s a really important two points,” Meier said. “I think the way we played, not great at all. We didn’t play our best game … (but) we found a way to win. That’s the most important thing.”
The win over Columbus gave the Devils their 12th comeback win after they led the NHL with 26 such victories last season en route to their first postseason appearance since 2017-18. It also was their 11th one-goal victory and they improved to 11-12-1 when allowing the first goal.
“I’m getting tired of the comeback stuff,” said Ruff, whose team is tied with the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers for the most comeback victories in the NHL. “Some guys were sharp, some guys weren’t sharp. I thought some of our top guys weren’t sharp and it affected our game.”
Ottawa is playing its fifth game since coach Jacques Martin replaced D.J. Smith following a 6-3 road loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 17. Martin lost his first two games to extend their losing streak to six games, but the Senators followed up Saturday’s 5-4 overtime home win against the Pittsburgh Penguins by rallying for a 4-2 road win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
After blowing a two-goal lead in the third period before Tim Stutzle scored in overtime to beat the Penguins, Ottawa got its third comeback win of the season against Toronto despite allowing two goals in 23 seconds during the first period. The Senators also improved to 3-8-0 when allowing the first goal this season.
Drake Batherson scored twice for the third time this season, Parker Kelly netted a short-handed goal and Brady Tkachuk also scored for the second straight game after getting three points against Pittsburgh. Those goals helped Ottawa withstand getting outshot 36-30, including 16-10 in the final period.
Batherson’s big night also continued his recent hot streak, giving him seven goals in 13 games this month.
“I think we had a slow start,” Martin said. “I don’t think we were ready to play at the pace the Leafs came out with, and they got a 2-0 lead, but what I like is our resiliency, how we battled back, how we stuck with it.”
The Senators are eyeing their third three-game winning streak this season. Ottawa lost 10 of 13 following its previous three-game winning streak Nov. 11-16.
–Field Level Media
