Devils' Comebacks Earns a Point in Shootout Loss to Canes | GAME STORY

The Devils overcame three one-goal deficits to earn a point in a 5-4 shootout loss against Carolina Sunday afternoon at Prudential Center.
Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt (2) and Nico Hischier scored for the Devils.
Derek Stepan (2), Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas scored for Carolina. Andrei Svechnikov scored the shootout deciding goal.
New Jersey trailed 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 to take a point out of the game. The Hurricanes won a franchise-record 11th straight game.
"You have to be satisfied that you battled back, battled back, you take the lead," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "There was lots of good. That team has really been rolling. They haven't given up a lot. There are a lot of positives to go with the four that we scored against them."

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The Devils travels to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Wednesday. NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
Here are some observations from the game...
- Jesper Bratt looks like he's starting to heat up again. Bratt scored twice and added an assist for a three-point night. He used his speed and escapability to get around Brady Skjei to create an odd-man rush. Bratt kept the puck and scored on a low shot, fooling Raanta. Bratt made aa great play late in the third period to score a go-ahead goal by carrying into the O zone and cutting to the slot of a shot. He also picked up an assist on Hischier's tying goal. Bratt has points in four of his last six games (4g-3a). - Coming into this season, Hughes said he worked on his shot during the offseason. I'm not sure exactly what he did, but he should patent it.

Hughes, typically thought of as more of a playmaker and passer, has developed into one of the best goal scorers in the NHL. He scored his third goal in two games, and 21st of the season, in the second period with a dynamite move.

Hughes tracked down a puck with speed. He saw he had a step on Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin - one of the, if not the, best defensemen in the NHL. Hughes managed to swerve around the blueliner, pull the puck to the crease, avoid a poke-check by goaltender Antti Raanta and slide a backhander into the goal.

Hughes has 46 goals in his last 86 games played and is on pace for a 40-goal season. He also has points in 14 of his last 16 games for 19 total (12g-7a). There's no doubt that Hughes is the driver of this offense.

- One key factor for Hughes has been his willingness to shoot the puck. He had a team-high six shots against Carolina and 159 on the season. That total ranks as the fifth in the NHL (as of this writing). - Devils captain Nico Hischier went six games without a goal. Now, he's scored in each of his past three games. It was Hischier's shorthanded tally against Pittsburgh that held up for his career-high fourth game-winning goal of the season. The captain's goal against Carolina, on a wraparound, tied the game in the third period, 3-3, just 34 seconds after the Canes had taken a lead. - It was a remarkable game for goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood in net. He made critical saves on Derek Stepan (a minute before Hughes' goal tied the game at 1-1) and on Aho (20 seconds after Hughes' goal). Those bookend stops allowed the Devils to tie the game, and keep it tied. But 90 seconds after stopping Aho, Blackwood muffed on a puck in front of him that Aho easily scored for a shorthanded goal late in the second period to give Carolina a 2-1 lead. It was a tough break, but Blackwood responded well to make some big saves in the third period and breakaway stops on Slavin Seth Jarvis in overtime. It was a great mental response.

"I've been around long enough to know (things) happen. If you let that stuff bother you, you won't be a very good goalie in this league," Blackwood said. "It's part of the job, letting things flow off your body and just keep doing your job."

"When a goalie has to play the puck with the tools that he has that is going to happen. He tried to make the right play," Ruff said. "I'll give him a lot of credit for keeping his composure and making some big freaking saves that allowed us to get back in the game and get a point out of the game. And look at some of the breakaway saves he made in overtime to allow us to get to a shootout, you have to give him a lot of credit."

- The Hurricanes scored just the second power-play goal against the Devils in the past 23 times the club has been shorthanded. Unfortunately, it tied the game late in the third period at 4-4. The goal came on a 5-on-3 after Dawson Mercer (high sticking) and Ryan Graves (puck over glass) were penalized at the exact same time.

"It just bobbled on me," Graves said. "I was just trying to make a really hard play. It's a game of inches. ... I have to find a way to keep it in the arena, and find a way to keep it lower."

- Graves removed from IR (lower-body) prior to the game and returned to the lineup after missing the previous three contests.

"It was a pretty quick turnaround the last 24-48 hours," Graves said. "It was pretty slow moving the first week or so. The last 48 hours we got a handle on it, things started to move a little better. Once I had full strength and decent mobility it was safe enough to play. This was a big game. I had this one circle that I was trying to get back for. I felt healthy enough to play and I felt good out there."

- Canes goaltender Antti Raanta entered the game riding back-to-back shutouts and a shutout sequence of 127:35 minutes. The Devils snapped that in the second period at 163:53. - The Devils allowed 47 shots to Carolina, the most they've allowed all season.