Devils Offence Arrives in Third to Beat Blackhawks | GAME STORY

NEWARK, N.J. - The Devils required patience and lots of it before their offense broke through Chicago's rookie netminder Drew Commesso.

But once it arrived off of Dawson Mercer's stick, New Jersey just kept coming.

Mercer's third period goal, his seventh of the season, tied the game at one, proving patience pays off.

Patience and a little extra determination goes a long way.

"I challenged our guys to be exactly that," head coach Sheldon Keefe said of his second intermission message to his team. "More determined and competitive and go out and earn a goal.

The Blackhawks held a 1-0 lead after the second period but the Devils remained patient in their play.

"I think we've learned it now, we don't get frustrated too much," Hischier said post-game. "Sometimes we would get frustrated and try too much. But now we just keep sticking with our gameplan."

"Today was basically just a game of us managing our own mistakes and playing good with the puck and trying to minimize our mistakes," Jesper Bratt, who had two assists, said. "They've got good, skilled guys that know what to do on the rush if you keep feeding that. So we wanted them to come into their own zone, stop and work there and that's how we stayed successful."

Mercer tied the game 2:45 of the third, before Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier all scored goals in a span of 2:09 to complete a come from behind victory. Hischier and Meier's goals came in a span of 18 seconds to quickly turn the game on it's head.

Jack Hughes broke the draw at 10:28 of the third, to start the things of goals in quick succession. But it was the play of Jesper Bratt, who earned two assists on Saturday, that drew much of the attention on the play. Fresh off the bench, Bratt laid a hit on Hawks defenseman Wyatt Kaiser, pinning him along the boards to break the puck loose. Brett Pesce picks up the loose puck to Hughes who was fresh off the bench himself and wired the puck behind Commesso for his 13th goal of the season.

"That was one where things were building positively for us," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "Bratter went out and just incredible, incredible determination, persistence to stay on the puck and then it lands on Jack's stick and he makes them pay for it."

The Devils exploded for four goals in the third period to beat the Blackhawks 4-1 on Saturday afternoon, and complete their five-game homestand with a 3-1-1 record and hit the 20-win mark this season in their 33rd game.

Bratt assited on both Hughes and Hischier's goals to reach the 400-point mark in his career.

Here are some observations from the game:

• Brett Pesce was a plus-4 against Chicago and picked up two assists.

"If you watch his game, if you're on the ice with him, you know you've got a guy back there that is unbelievable with his stick," Hischier said. "He strips pucks from the air. Great guy defensively. And obviously you could see he makes plays as well. Really calm back there. It's a great guy to have on our team and not play against."

• In Game 33 of the season, Jack Hughes took just his second penalty of the season when he was called early in the game for a hook on Connor Bedard. The Devils PKers, sans Hughes, went to work, killing off the Hawks powerplay and not giving up a single shot.

• The way the Devils have been supressing their opponents shots on goal over the course of the five-game homestand has been superb, particularly when it comes to the first period. The Devils have controlled the first period and defended well over this stretch and it's and important area of growth to be able to play in these close, tight games, while also being able to control the pace of the play.

When it comes to shot supression, the Devils limited their opponents to just one shot in the first period against Toronto and L.A. following that. Against Chicago, while it wasn't as low as one, the Devils still limited the Blackhawks to just three in the first.

• Erik Haula was denied on a point-blank save by rookie netminder Drew Commesso late in the second period when Haula found himself uncontested in the slot and the puck on his stick.

Haula wired up a shot but was denied by the flash of the leather from the rookie netminder.

• An unforunate bounce of the puck from the crossbar into Luke Hughes's face broke the 0-0 stalemate between the two teams.

Veteran forward Nick Foligno led the end-to-end rush up the ice for Chicago, before setting up linemate Jason Dickinson with a pass who was trailing late on the play. Dickinson fired the puck toward the Devils net, which struck off the crossbar behind Jacob Markstrom. The rebound of the puck caught Luke Hughes off the helmet and the riccochet ended up in the back of the Devils net.

• Dawson Mercer skated with a full cage attached to his helmet. Mercer took a deflected puck to the face against the Kings earlier this week and required many stitches to close up a wound on his lip and chin. The 23-year-old has kept his consecutive games played streak alive, able to play against Chicago. Mercer skated in his 279th straight game and hasn't missed a game since he made his NHL debut in 2021.

Mercer shared that he had 16 stitches both inside and outside of his mouth on Thursday night.

• Chicago goaltender Drew Commesso made his first start in the NHL. It was his second NHL appearance, called into relief two nights ago on Long Island when the Blackhawks lost to the Islanders.