Recap: Red Wings edge Devils, 5-3, in season finale

The final horn has sounded on the Detroit Red Wings' 2021-22 season.

In the last game of the season for both teams, Detroit edged the New Jersey Devils, 5-3, on Friday night at the Prudential Center.
Moritz Seider and Tyler Bertuzzi both reached milestones on Friday. Seider notched his 50th point of the season with his second-period goal, becoming the first Red Wings defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom did in 2011. Bertuzzi joined captain Dylan Larkin as Detroit's second 30-goal scorer of the season with his empty-netter in the final frame.
Michael Rasmussen, Joe Veleno and Pius Suter all scored for the Red Wings, who finished the year with a 32-40-10 (74 points) overall record. With the win, Detroit swept the season series over New Jersey.
Goalie Magnus Hellberg made his Winged Wheel debut on Friday, finishing with 20 saves. It was the 31-year-old's first NHL game since April 9, 2017.
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SCORING SUMMARY

Detroit 1, New Jersey 0 (1:08, 1st period)
The Red Wings opened the scoring when Rasmussen, assisted by Oskar Sundqvist and Jake Walman, fired a shot from the slot past Devils netminder Mackenzie Blackwood for his third goal in the last five games.

New Jersey 1, Detroit 1 (17:14, 1st period)
Dawson Mercer tucked in the rebound on Fabian Zetterlund's initial shot for his 17th goal of the season. Mercer played in his 82nd NHL game on Friday, joining Red Wings rookies Lucas Raymond and Seider as the only first-year skaters to appear in all 82 games this season.
Detroit 2, New Jersey 1 (6:30, 2nd period)
Seider's shot from just below the blue line found the back of the net, marking his 50th point of the season. Sam Gagner and Rasmussen each recorded an assist on Seider's tally.

New Jersey 2, Detroit 2 (15:38, 2nd period)
Nolan Foote redirected Dougie Hamilton's shot past Hellberg to even the score.
Detroit 3, New Jersey 2 (00:54, 3rd period)
After Bertuzzi collected his own rebound, he skated behind New Jersey's net and sent a pass to Veleno, whose one-timer beat Blackwood for his first goal since March 22. Raymond also recorded an assist on the play.

New Jersey 3, Detroit 3 (6:57, 3rd period)
Fabian Zetterlund tied Friday's contest for the third time with a goal from the top of the left faceoff circle.
Detroit 4, New Jersey 3 (10:42, 3rd period)
Jakub Vrana took a pass from Filip Hronek, then fired a shot that bounced off Blackwood and right to Suter. He quickly grabbed the puck in front of New Jersey's crease, then put it just past the goal line for the eventual game-winner.

Detroit 5, New Jersey 3 (19:50, 3rd period)
Bertuzzi, assisted by Gagner, scored an empty-netter to seal the win.

QUOTABLE

Jeff Blashill on the positives from the 2021-22 season
"We stayed in the playoff race longer than we have in the last couple of years. I think certainly a big piece of that was being able to have an influx of talent with young guys like Seider and Raymond. They had huge impacts."
Blashill on Bertuzzi's 30th goal
"Bert's had a heckuva year and I think it was important for all of us on the bench to see if he could get that. It was great for him to be able to do it."
Blashill on Detroit's bright future
"The arc of the organization is headed in the right direction, there's no doubt about that. I think there's positives to be looked at from the year. I think there were times this year where our team showed really, really great and extraordinary-type sacrifice. There were times this year, when we played our best hockey, that we were as good as anybody and we beat a number of good teams."
Hellberg on beating the Devils
"It's a great feeling to win the last game of the season. It was a lot of fun out there. I enjoyed it."
Hellberg on how he felt in his Red Wings debut
"I kind of felt pretty good right off the bat. It's been a while since I've played but it was good. The guys played great in front of me and they let me see the pucks."