Jack Hughes gets 4 points, lifts Devils past Islanders in OT 

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Jack Hughes scored in overtime to cap a four-point game, lifting the New Jersey Devils to a 5-4 win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Friday.

Hughes won it when he carried the puck into the zone and beat Ilya Sorokin with a wrist shot from the high slot at 2:19.

“That play really started 25 seconds before,” Hughes said of his overtime goal. “[Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer and John Marino] did a really good job of controlling the puck, and they didn’t let the Islanders cross the red line, so they couldn’t change. They had tired guys with bad gaps, and I came on the ice with fresh legs, saw his feet turn, and took the shot.”

Hughes had two goals and two assists for New Jersey (2-1-1). Jesper Bratt had three assists, and Akira Schmid made 28 saves.

“I think that’s the best we’ve come out,” Hughes said of the strong start. “We need to keep coming out in the first like that. We struggled last year in the first, too, so just a simple thing of being ready to go right off the hop. Even though we gave up the first goal, we came out pretty good in the first.”

Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat each scored two goals, and Kyle Palmieri had three assists for New York (2-1-0). Sorokin made 34 saves.

Horvat tied it 4-4, scoring his second of the game with 1:11 remaining in the third period. He forced the puck over the goal line off a rebound with Sorokin pulled for the extra attacker.

Nelson scored at 12:35 of the first period to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead, beating Schmid off the rush.

Sorokin kept the Islanders lead intact with 4:31 to play in the first when he stopped Hughes on a breakaway. The Devils center shifted it to his backhand and attempted to lift the puck into the net, but Sorokin made a glove save to deny him.

“We talk about him (Sorokin) all the time, about how many saves he makes,” Nelson said. “Tonight was more than we'd like in terms of quantity and quality and highlight reel, but it's just a guy who goes out there, lays it out on the line, is a gamer, and gives us a chance every night even when maybe we aren't at our best.”

Hamilton tied it 1-1 on the power play with 1:00 left.

Toffoli gave the Devils a 2-1 lead 21 seconds into the second period on a one-timer that beat Sorokin high blocker side. It was his first goal for New Jersey after he was traded from the Calgary Flames on June 27.

Nelson tied it 2-2 at 1:37 with his second goal of the game, beating Schmid through the five-hole.

The Devils retook the lead 3-2 on the power play at 2:36 with Luke Hughes’ first goal of the season, assisted by Jack Hughes.

“It’s hard coming in being a rookie defenseman, especially on a really good team,” Jack said of his brother. “It’s not like he is just walking in and given the minutes, he’s got to earn it. He’s done a really good job. From Game 4 to 40 to 80, he will be a much different player too.”

Horvat tied it 3-3 at 6:10 of the second after Noah Dobson found him below the right face-off dot for a one-timer.

New Jersey took a 4-3 lead at 4:30 of the third when Jack Hughes scored on the power play from the low slot.

The Devils went 4-for-5 on the power play; the Islanders entered Friday 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.

“I thought the execution was really good,” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. “You don’t have many nights like that where you click, and all those opportunities go in. It’s something that we are going to continue to keep working on.”

Devils center Nico Hischier left the game with an upper-body injury, his last shift concluding at 18:38 of the second period.

NOTES: Jack Hughes leads the NHL with 10 points (four goals, six assists) and became the first player with that many points in the Devils' first four games. …Bratt extended his point streak to three games (seven points; three goals, four assists). … The Islanders allowed four power-play goals for the first time since March 1, 2014, also against the Devils.