Devils score 4 in 3rd period, rally past Blackhawks

Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier each had a goal and an assist, and the New Jersey Devils scored four straight third-period goals in a 4-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday.

Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier also scored, and Jesper Bratt and Brett Pesce each had two assists for the Devils (20-10-3), who have won their past two games and four of six (4-1-1). Jacob Markstrom made 16 saves.

“Just challenged the guys in the second (intermission) to be exactly that, a little more determined and competitive,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Go out and earn a goal. ... They’re competing and winning some battles. We’re making some plays. We’ve got to find ways to generate more.”

Drew Commesso made 20 saves in his first NHL start, and Jason Dickinson scored for the Blackhawks (9-19-2), who have lost seven of eight.

“We’ve got to be better,” Chicago interim coach Anders Sorenson said. “We have to understand that the next shift is a big one.”

Mercer, wearing a full cage after taking a puck to the face during a 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, tied it 1-1 at 2:45 by tapping in a pass from Luke Hughes just outside the crease.

“Pretty much, we just stuck with it,” Mercer said. “We’re getting some chances. We just want to make sure we create a bit more. I think we did that.

“We put pucks to the net [and] good things happen. We had a nice stretch there [for] a few shifts. Really paid off.”

Jack Hughes gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead at 10:28 with his 13th goal, a snap shot from the slot after the Devils held the puck in the offensive zone for an extended period.

Hischier and Meier then scored 18 seconds apart. Hischier made it 3-1 at 12:16, taking a pass from Bratt to the net for a wrist shot; Meier pushed it to 4-1 at 12:34 with a wrist shot off a rebound from Mercer.

“I feel like, in the first two periods, we all knew, as a group, we were playing to our identity,” Bratt said. “We really had success. When we were trying to complicate things and we were turning pucks over, we just kept feeding them. So, I think going into the third, we knew we needed a goal.

“It wasn’t really going to come pretty. It was going to come from some battles.”

Dickinson put Chicago ahead 1-0 at 13:31 of the second period, taking a backhand pass from Nick Foligno for a snap shot that hit the crossbar, bounced back out and went in off the face of Luke Hughes.

It came after Tyler Bertuzzi hit the crossbar for the Blackhawks at 8:41, driving to the slot off a face-off for a backhand.

“You say all those things like, 'Yeah, we’re good. We’re good. Stay confident. Don’t worry,’” Dickinson said. “But the brain is a strong thing that can be very overpowering and stop you from being able to get out of it.”

Connor Bedard could have extended the lead for Chicago on a breakaway 55 seconds into the third but hit the crossbar with a wrist shot on a power play.

Bedard nearly put the Blackhawks in front 38 seconds into the first period on a 2-on-1 with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle off the left post.

Commesso was playing his second NHL game after making two saves in relief in a 5-4 loss at the New York Islanders on Thursday. The 22-year-old was selected in the second round (No. 46) by Chicago at the 2020 NHL Draft.

"We can't, every night, rely on our goalies to win us games,” said Foligno, the Blackhawks captain. “That's a sign of a bad hockey team. If Commesso has to pitch a shutout in his first NHL game, it’s a great feather in his cap, but it’s not a good sign for us, right?

“We need to play in a way that allows our goalies to feel confident that, even if one does squeak by, we come back and we support them."

NOTES: The Devils’ final three goals came in 2:06; they have scored three goals faster at home three times in the past 25 years -- Nov. 28, 2009 (2:02), Oct. 14, 2019 (1:55) and Feb. 6, 2023 (50 seconds). ... New Jersey scored four goals in the third for the first time since Feb. 27 at the San Jose Sharks. ... It was Jack Hughes’ 20th career game-winning goal, tying Zach Parise for the most in franchise history before the age of 24; Hughes turned 23 on May 14. … Pesce was plus-4 in 20:40 of ice time. … Bratt’s assist on Hischier’s goal gave him 400 NHL points (142 goals, 248 assists). … Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen had one shot on goal in 16:32 in his 700th NHL game. … Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser blocked six shots in 16:41.