NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Paul Cotter and Jesper Bratt scored in the shootout, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Monday night for their third win in four games.
Luke Hughes and Nico Hischier scored in regulation for the Devils, who won their second straight against the Wild after a 5-2 win in Minnesota on Saturday. Jacob Markstrom had 27 saves.
Vinnie Hinostroza and Matt Boldy scored for the Wild, who lost for the fourth time in five contests. Filip Gustavsson finished with 26 saves.
In the tiebreaker, Cotter and Bratt scored on the Devils' first two attempts, and Boldy's shot on the Wild's second attempt went off the crossbar to give New Jersey the win.
Hughes, the 21-year-old defenseman and brother of injured Devils center Jack Hughes, opened the scoring at with 7:30 left in the first with his seventh goal.
Hinostroza tied it at 2:57 of the third with his fifth.
Hischier scored his team-leading 34th goal at 9:12 of the third to put New Jersey up 2-1 but Boldy tied it again with his 25th with 2:08 remaining.
Takeaways
Devils: New Jersey finished March with eight wings in 16 games to reach the 40-win mark for the second time in three seasons. The Devils have a solid grip on third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Wild: Minnesota lost for the fifth time in their last six road games. Minnesota still has a 22-11-4 away record this season.
Key moment
Markstrom made a key overtime save on Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon. The 35-year-old goalie improved to 25-14-6 in his first season with the Devils.
Key stat
The Devils improved to 18-13-5 at home. New Jersey plays five of its last six games at Prudential Center.
Up next
Wild visit the New York Rangers on Wednesday, and Devils host the Rangers on Saturday.
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Allan Kreda, The Associated Press
