Simmonds scores twice in third period, Devils rally past Red Wings

NEWARK, N.J. -- Wayne Simmonds scored twice during a four-goal third period for the New Jersey Devils in a 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Prudential Center on Thursday.

Simmonds scored on a wrist shot from the slot at 6:54 to give the Devils a 2-1 lead and scored the 250th goal of his NHL career off a rebound on the power play at 8:37 to make it 3-1. It was his first multigoal game since Jan. 14, 2019.

"I think I've had my legs the past few games so I just tried to skate as hard as I can," Simmonds said. "Pavel [Zacha] made an unbelievable pass to [Miles Wood] and Woody found me backdoor on my first goal. On the power play, I just tried to present a screen, the guys got a shot through and I got the rebound."

WATCH: [All Red Wings vs. Devils highlights]

Andy Greene and Jesper Bratt scored, Damon Severson and Zacha each had two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves for the Devils (21-25-10), who are 4-1-3 in their past eight games.

Andreas Athanasiou scored, and Jonathan Bernier made 22 saves for the Red Wings (14-41-4), who are 2-11-1 in their past 14 games.

Bratt scored on a snapshot from just inside the blue line at 9:10 for a 4-1 lead, New Jersey's fourth goal in a span of 4:00.

"I thought we stopped skating totally [in the third period]," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "At the end of the day we have to play way better. I don't have an answer as to why we stopped skating."

The Devils were outshot 12-4 in the first period; each team finished the game with 26 shots.

"[Coach Alain Nasreddine] came in between the first and second period and kind of chewed us out," Simmonds said. "I think we responded well and got the message loud and clear. [Nasreddine] is pretty mild-mannered but if you don't work hard he's going to give it to you."

Athanasiou scored on a power play on a snapshot through a screen from the right circle at 16:34 of the second period to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead.

The goal ended Blackwood's shutout streak at 171:37, the fifth-longest streak in Devils/Kansas City Scout/Colorado Rockies history. Blackwood entered with consecutive shutouts against the Philadelphia Flyers (5-0) on Feb. 6 and Los Angeles Kings (3-0) on Feb. 8.

"The streak was good while it lasted," Blackwood said. "I knew it wouldn't last forever. It was a good shot; I didn't pick it up through the legs [of defenseman Mirco Mueller]. It's how it goes sometimes."

Greene tied it 1-1 at 5:10 of the third period on a slap shot from the top of the left circle.

Severson extended his point streak to eight games (two goals, seven assists) to equal the longest streak by a Devils defenseman since Brian Rafalski in 2006-07.

"[The point streak] is definitely in the back of your mind, but we didn't have any goals entering the third so it's great to contribute," Severson said. "I'd like to get a point every game but I know that's not really going to happen. I'll ride it as long as possible and try to keep putting guys in the scoring positions."

They said it

"No one wants to be in this position. I felt the last two weeks we've been building our game, playing as a unit of five and our goaltending has been great. Tonight we took a step backwards. In a league that's so tight, so competitive, we've got to come every night. Especially us. We've got to come harder."-- Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin

"The one thing I won't stand for is lack of effort, especially at home. It hasn't happened often. It doesn't matter where it happens, but I just let the guys know. I like the fact we responded in the second period, and in the third we showed resiliency and found a way." -- Devils coach Alain Nasreddine

Need to know

Athanasiou has three goals in his past three games. ... Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha has three assists in his past two games. ... Devils defenseman P.K. Subban played in his 700th NHL game. ... Simmonds has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past three games. ... The Devils placed defenseman Sami Vatanen (right leg) on injured reserve (retroactive to Feb. 1) and recalled forward Nick Merkley from Binghamton of the American Hockey League. ... The Red Wings went 1-for-4 on the power play; the Devils were 1-for-6.

What's next

Red Wings: At the Boston Bruins on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, NESN, FS-D, NHL.TV)

Devils:At the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, MSG+, NHL.TV)