NJ Devils steal point against Wild, reach Thanksgiving in thick of Eastern Conference

NEWARK — Some pundits believe Thanksgiving represents the first benchmark for NHL teams to see where they will ultimately fit in by the conclusion of the season.

If that's the case, the Devils are right in line with the season's ultimate objective: competing for their first playoff spot since 2018.

The Devils proved their fortitude and resolve toward completing that mission again on Wednesday night.

After falling behind by two goals in the first period, the Devils clawed back with two third-period goals and salvaged a point in a 3-2 shootout loss against the Wild on Yegor Sarangovich's man-up goal on a pass from Nico Hischier that tied the game with 1:07 left.

Kevin Fiala's goal in the shootout gave Minnesota the extra point.

"I think we're all a little dejected we didn't win that game, that's the biggest thing," coach Lindy Ruff said. "I think that's where we should be and knowing that a point got away from us, but there's a lot inside the game on the defending front, time away from the puck that we did a lot better than the two games in Florida."

The Devils overcame some hard luck and strong goaltending by Cam Talbot in the second period and struck back early in the third when Pavel Zacha scored from the left circle on a feed from Hischier behind the net.

It may have looked like the Devils were going to come up empty when their power-play woes surfaced once again late in the third and they failed to convert on a 5-on-3 as P.K. Subban ran a shot off the crossbar. The Devils hit the post four times on the night, but they were also 0-for-4 on the power play.

"We did have a couple of good looks and a couple that were a little bit frustrating on the entries where we made some tough decisions," Ruffi said. " There's stuff that we're going to continue to keep working on.

"I think we hit the post on the power play. I think we missed an open net on the power play. We have to keep believing if we keep working on it, it's going to get better."

Sharangovich still found a way to come up with a big response when it mattered most.

The Wild led 2-0 after the opening period on a pair of goals by Ryan Hartman and Nico Sturm with less than eight minutes to play in the frame.

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Sturm's goal came shorthanded on a 2-on-1 off a pass from Frederick Gaudreau, inflating the Devils power play woes.

"It wasn't there as much as we wanted, but we have to keep working on it and break it," Zach said. "When we score one or two goals, I think it's going to keep coming after that."

The Devils trailed despite outshooting the Wild 18-13 in the opening period.

In the second period, Damon Severson rang two shots off the post and Wild goalie Cam Talbot rose up to stop the opening 25 shots of the game.

The Devils remain on the right side of the .500 mark at 8-5-4 heading into a road game against the Predators on Friday and a home matchup with the Flyers on Sunday.

"For us, I like to celebrate small wins. It’s a long season and you have to celebrate small wins. When you do, it goes by really, really quickly," P.K. Subban said Monday. "I’ve also been a part of seasons that have felt really, really long, like they’re never going to end. For us, we’ve done a lot of good things. I still think our best is yet to come for our group. The goal is to make the playoffs."

The Devils have pieced together a solid start to their season despite missing goalie Mackenzie Blackwood for the first eight games and star center Jack Hughes for all but the opener after he suffered a separated shoulder in the second game.

Last year after a COVID-19 outbreak forced five games to be postponed, the Devils stumbled in 12 of their 14 games between Feb. 20 and March 14. The Devils never got back above .500 after starting the season 7-6-2 in the opening 15 games.

The Devils' players have shown reason to believe they have turned a corner with the addition of star defenseman Dougie Hamilton, standout rookie Dawson Mercer and backup goalie Jonathan Bernier.

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There are still plenty of areas where Ruff knows the Devils need to improve.

They entered Wednesday night's game 27th in the NHL both on the power play (14.9 percent) and the penalty kill (76.8 percent).

Throughout the season, Ruff has been looking for ways to replicate the speed and efficiency in front of the net by Miles Wood, who is out indefinitely following hip surgery.

So far, the Devils have been able to rise above all of those challenges but filling in those blanks will go a long way to the Devils reaching their objective.

"A lot of people think that if you’ve got yourself in position for a playoff spot at Thanksgiving you can say that you’ve got a pretty good chance of being there at the end of the year," Ruff said. "We have some questions we have to answer yet."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Devils prove resolve even in shootout loss to Minnesota Wild