Devils score 3 in 3rd, ease past Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- The New Jersey Devils scored three unanswered goals in the third period to end the Pittsburgh Penguins' five-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

Jesper Bratt and Curtis Lazar each had a goal and an assist for the Devils (8-6-1), who were outscored 16-8 in three straight losses. Luke Hughes and Erik Haula each had two assists, and Vitek Vanecek made 21 saves.

New Jersey, already without forwards Jack Hughes (upper body) and Nico Hischier (upper body), did not have first-line left wing Timo Meier, a game-time decision with an undisclosed injury sustained in a 6-3 loss at the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

"A great effort,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “You have to find ways to win. We've come close. ... There should be a lot of players that feel good about the way we played, the opportunities we created and then the fact that we finished them.”

Bryan Rust scored twice, and Tristan Jarry made 26 saves for the Penguins (8-7-0), who are 0-5-1 against the Devils since a 4-2 win on Feb. 13, 2022.

“We just weren’t very good,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I’m not going to rationalize an answer. We weren’t good enough.”

Bratt gave New Jersey a 3-2 lead on a 4-on-4 at 2:35 of the third period, scoring his eighth this season on a wrist shot from the left face-off circle.

Alexander Holtz made it 4-2 on a one-timer at the left post at 11:24 before Tyler Toffoli scored his ninth of the season 20 seconds later on a snap shot from the slot, extending it to 5-2 at 11:44.

Rust put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 at 6:36 of the first period. After taking a stretch pass from Jake Guentzel through the neutral zone, he drove to the slot before shifting the puck to his backhand and lifting it over Vanecek’s blocker.

Lazar scored short-handed to tie it 1-1 at 13:34. Haula stole the puck from Rickard Rakell for a 2-on-1, passing to Lazar for a wrist shot that beat Jarry five-hole from the right circle.

“These past few games, you get down and you kind of get deflated,” Lazar said. “You try to claw back. We just didn't have it. Tonight was completely different. I thought guys did a great job, skating through the neutral zone, managing the puck, making the Penguins work 200 feet to get a look.

“As the game went on, we just kind of settled in. You could tell guys are having fun again.”

Rust gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 3:17 of the second period, tapping in a backhand from Erik Karlsson, who pushed his point streak to seven games (12 points; four goals, eight assists).

Sidney Crosby had the secondary assist on the goal to extend his point streak to 10 games (15 points; seven goals, eight assists).

“Really in any area, we weren’t really good to be honest with you,” said Crosby, the Pittsburgh captain. “We didn’t execute well. We had a couple of leads and then they got it back right away. They were a desperate team. They played better. They outworked us.

“Some nights, you’re not going to have your best. But I thought we beat ourselves a bit.”

Nathan Bastian scored his first goal of the season 38 seconds later, tying it 2-2 at 3:55 with a backhand on a rebound off a shot from Haula.

"That was, honestly, probably one of the better games we've played all year,” Bastian said. “Tonight, it was nice that it wasn't necessarily a nail-biter at the end. A lot of guys stepped up."

NOTES: Meier is expected to be out short term, Ruff said. No other update was provided. ... Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin was held without a shot on goal in 21:53 of ice time after missing practice Wednesday with an undisclosed illness. … Defenseman Colin Miller returned from a lower-body injury to debut for New Jersey after being traded from the Dallas Stars on July 1. The Devils used 11 forwards; Miller was the seventh defenseman. … Crosby became the 15th player in NHL history with 11 or more point streaks of at least 10 games. Wayne Gretzky (31) has the most. … The goals from Holtz and Toffoli were the third-fastest two scored by New Jersey in the past decade. Ryan Graves and Bratt scored seven seconds apart Nov. 3, 2022, and Pavel Zacha scored 10 seconds after Hischier on April 9, 2022.