Tyler Toffoli completed a hat trick in overtime as the New Jersey Devils rallied to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-5 Monday night at the Prudential Center.
I hate writing this already. Another avoidable loss for Vegas.
The VGK did get on the board first, courtesy of Pavel Dorofeyev (7) at 6:12 of the 1st period before New Jersey tied it later at 15:21 from Nico Hischier (13). A few minutes after that, the Devils would a 2-1 lead by way of Curtis Lazar (5) with 22 seconds left in the 1st period. Toffoli's first of the night and his 18th of the season extended the Devils lead to 3-1 at 1:37 of the 2nd period. Then came the 4-goal explosion from Vegas, started by Jonathan Marchessault (21) at 7:39 and then right at halfway for a back-to-back tally, followed by Chandler Stephenson (8) 48 seconds later and then Nicolas Roy (8) at 19:08 for an incredible 5-3 Vegas comeback lead. New Jersey would pull one back right before the end of the period, though, and it was Toffoli's 2nd of the night at 19:44 to make 5-4 Vegas instead.
Only 1 goal was scored by either team in the 3rd, and it came from Lazar's 2nd of the night at 9:14. Heading to 3-on-3 overtime, Toffoli completed his 6th NHL hat trick at the 2:35 mark of the extra 5-minute period for the win. Who else, am I right? Either him or Lazar, honestly.
The Devils improve to 24-18-3, 4th in the Metropolitan Division and a 5-4-1 record in their last 10 games. They visit Carolina next on January 25 at 7:30 pm. Vegas drops to 27-14-6, 2nd in the Pacific Division, and also has a 5-4-1 last 10 record. They play tonight, as of this article's writing date, at the New York Islanders, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 pm. (Maybe I can watch that one, and they'll win because I couldn't watch the Devils loss. Didn't have NHL Network)
Team Stats:
Shots: VGK 32, NJ 38
Hits: VGK 10, NJ 11
Faceoff Wins: VGK 28, NJ 24
PIM: VGK 6, NJ 2
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