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Miles Wood scored the game-winner for New Jersey in a big come-from-behind win against the Winnipeg Jets tonight.
Starting a four-game homestand, fresh off a nine-day road trip, the Devils returned home for a second night in of back-to-back to defeat the Jets, 4-2.
The Devils trailed for much of the game after Neal Pionk gave the Jets a 2-1 lead at 17:09 of the first period.
It wasn't until the third period that things would shift for the Devils, with goals from Fabian Zetterlund and Miles Wood scored 1:51 apart that New Jersey would take their first lead of the game - the only one they would need.
Dawson Mercer had a two-goal performance scoring the opening goal and the empty netter. Mercer has four goals in his past three games.
"It's great, we're never out of a game," Mercer said of coming from behind to win. "We're responsible team, we know we can protect the lead when we have it and we can also get it back when we're trailing from behind. We stick to our game and that's really been working for us lately. And we play the right way until the end."
Of Mercer's recent play, head coach Lindy Ruff shared, "I think he's been around the front of the ney, some pucks have found him. I thought a great effort on the empty net goal. For me, it's a little thing, but the effort alone (was great) to outrace the guy and get inside and put it in the net."

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The Devils continue their four-game homestand hosting the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
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Here are some observations from the game...
- The Jets first lead of the game lasted just 19 seconds. With Cole Perfetti picking up a rebound, the Jets' talented forward gave Winnipeg a 1-0 at 14:57 left alone in front of Mackenzie Blackwood.

On the very next play the Devils would tie the game, with a goal by Dawson Mercer assisted by Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton.

The assist for Hamilton is significant as the 29-year-old has set a new career-high in assists with his 38th of the season. His previous high was six seasons ago, while with the Calgary Flames (37).

At nearly 30 years old, Hamilton is having a career year with 54 points in 56 games. His 56 points set a new career high, surpassing his 50 from 2016-17, while he remains two goals away from matching his best goal-scoring season in 2018-19 (18). - While we're on the topic of career highs: Mercer has scored in three consecutive games, which sets a new milestone for the 21-year-old. - Jonas Siegenthaler returned to the Devils lineup after he was a healthy scratch against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday evening. Siegenthaler drew back into the lineup in place of Kevin Bahl and played alongside Damon Severson.

After the Penguins game, head coach Lindy Ruff offered insight into his decision to scratch Siegenthaler:

"I think he's had his struggles, but it's not one player (…) It was an opportunity to get a fresh body (Brendan Smith) in, and at the same time it might help Siegs reset a little bit."

After Sunday's game, Siegenthaler shared his thoughts:

"I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous today in the beginning. I just try to play hard, my game, stay focused, and play a solid 60 minutes. I think that was a little bit missing the last couple of games."

Ruff shared his insights on Siegenthaler's game:

"I think we're really going to need seven defensemen. A Siegs is a big part of this team. He's had some ups and downs, some struggles, but you know we count on him for a lot. He's put up against a lot of the top lines, in a lot of key situations. I'm just going to say it, it's not about the scratch, it's about You've got to catch traction with your play, you're got to be confident with how you're playing and sometimes just to take a game break and freshen up and reset is a good thing."

Siegenthaler played the second most minutes on defense (20:26) just behind Damon Severson's 21:52. - Fabian Zetterlund has been playing some of his best hockey since he was re-introduced to the lineup. He evened the score at two with his first goal since Dec. 3. Zetterlund wired the puck past Connor Hellebuyk through the slot.

Only moments after Zetterlund evened the game, it was Miles Wood who gave the Devils their first lead of the night, the 3-2 goal at 6:53 of the third. The goal comes after a difficult night in Pittsburgh where Wood found himself with limited ice time, playing just 4:48, including just 57 seconds in the first period, as the coaching staff went down to just three lines.

Wood picked the perfect way to respond to a difficult night: scoring his ninth of the season. The primary assist went to Michael McLeod who made an unbelievable play through his legs by Hellebuyk's post to find Wood in the slot.

"Two games now where the game-winning goal, Michael has been a big part of it," Ruff shared of McLeod's assist. "If we want to talk about Michael, he hasn't scored in a long time but he's made a couple of great plays that's allowed us to win games. He's won a lot of face off's when we need key faceoffs on the right side and he's been part of the penalty killing." - Ruff shared that he and Wood had a good conversation after Saturday night's game, but would not divulge any details of the conversation. - For just the 11th time this season, Jack Hughes did not have a single point in a game. Hughes has been on a tear this season and particularly in his last 10 games, prior to facing the Jets. He has 20 points in his last 11 games.