Toffoli's Trick Bests Golden Knights | GAME STORY

NEWARK, NJ - The Devils traded goals with the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in a good old fashioned wild west shootout.

It took overtime to decide.

Tyler Toffoli finished off a hat trick by scoring the overtime winner to lift the Devils to a 6-5 victory Monday night at Prudential Center.

"We knew that they were one of the top teams in the West," Toffoli said. "We had to come and play our best. We let it slip a little in the second but we stayed with it, dug deep and found a way."

"I said to 'Toff' before I put him out in overtime, I said, ‘go out and finish this thing.’ And he did," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "He’s a good listener."

Vegas opened the scoring with a goal by Pavel Dorofeyev. The Devils responded with three straight goals (Nico Hischier, Curtis Lazar, Toffoli) to take a 3-1 lead. Vegas responded with four straight goals (Jonathan Marchessault with two, Chandler Stephenson, Nicolas Roy). New Jersey scored the next two (Toffoli again, Lazar again) to the tie the game at 5-5.

Lazar's second tied the game in the third period. 

“Lindy had a pretty direct pump-up message for us going into the third," Lazar said. "We delivered.”

The Devils now have 51 points on the season, good for third spot in the Wild Card. But they do have games in hand on the two teams above them in Tampa and Detroit.

Here are some observations from the game:

• Toffoli went six games without a goal. Now, he has four goals, including tonight's hat trick, in his last two games after picking up Nos. 18, 19 and 20 of the year. In the second period, Toffoli gained the blue line and made a nice toe drag around Zach Whitecloud. Toffoli drifted unchecked into the high slot and ripped a shot on net and in. Toffoli scored in the final minute of the second period with a quick snapper through the five-hole with some deception.

"That goal at the end of the period was a big momentum goal for us," Ruff said. "It was probably the biggest goal of the game."

A beautiful cross-ice pass from Luke Hughes gave Toffoli and empty net in overtime. With a flick of the wrist Toffoli ended the game.

Toffoli has 13 shots in the past two games. He had seven total shots in the previous five games.

"I've been around long enough where I don't let it phase me. I know when I'm getting chances and opportunities," Toffoli said. "Eventually they're going to go in. There was a stretch where I wasn't getting opportunities. I think the last four or five I've had some good looks. It was a matter of time. Tonight was the night."

• The second period featured one of the wildest 20 minutes of the season. The Devils scored 97 seconds into the middle frame, Toffoli, to take a 3-1 lead. Vegas would score three goals in 3:09 minutes, including two goals 48 seconds apart, to take a 4-3 lead (Marchessault with two, Stephenson with one). The Golden Knights would add another goal (Nicolas Roy) with just 52 seconds remaining in the period to make it 5-3. New Jersey responded with 16 seconds left, Toffoli again bookending the period, to put the score at 5-4 after 40 minutes. Six goals on 20 shots between the two teams.

"To battle back from that adverstiy in the second period, get the tying goal," Ruff said. "Every guy in that room should feel good about what happened in the third period and the ending in overtime."

• Lazar snapped a 21-game goal-less drought with his fifth tally of the season. It started with a great keep by Simon Nemec at the blue line. He threw the puck down low while Lazar cut to the high slot. Erik Haula, from below the goal line, found Lazar and he buried his shot. This came a few minutes after Lazar was hobbled by blocking a shot. He gutted it out and was rewarded.

Lazar would pick up his second goal of the game halfway through the third period to tie the game at 5-5. A wide shot by Simon Nemec banked off the endboards and right to Lazar at the side post. Lazar quickly threw it at the net and sneaked through goalie Logan Thompson.

Lazar wasn't able to pick up the hat trick though. 

"I was on deck for overtime," Lazar said. "I was pretty scared, and (Jesper) Bratt didn't change. That was a win-win for everything. Toffoli beat me to it. He owes me one, I guess."

• Michael McLeod didn’t get an assist on Toffoli’s goal, but he deserves some credit. His center lane drive tied up Kaedan Korczak and caused some havoc at the net for Vegas goalie Logan Thompson.

• The Devils executed a perfect rush play to score their first goal of the game. Hischier caught an attempted keep by the Golden Knights in the defensive zone. He started the charge ahead. The puck went to Jesper Bratt then Timo Meier near the low circle. Hischier drove to the net and received a pass from Meier. Hischier went far side, post and in.

• The Devils allowed the first goal of a game for the 32^nd time this season in the 45^th games on the year.

• The Devils played the game without defenseman Colin Miller, who is ill. Santeri Hatakka made his Devils' debut. Three of the Devils blueliner (Nemec, Cal Foote, Hatakka) began the year in Utica of the AHL.

"It felt good," Hatakka said. "I'm just happy to be here and be able to play. I just tried to compete hard and just do my job."

Santeri finished wtih 17:22 minutes and a plus-3.

• Bratt finished with a career-high 10 shots. 

"There wasn't a time that I thought Jesper looked tired on the ice," Ruff said. "It was incredible."