The Devils are in the sixth wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 33-32-4.
The New Jersey Devils started their three-game homestand on the right foot as they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Tuesday night at Prudential Center.
The Devils got on the board first with Dawson Mercer's 18th goal of the season. He entered the game with six points in his last three games against the Penguins (four goals, two assists). Tomas Nosek collected his first assist of the season, while Ondrej Palat collected the second helper.
In the final minute of the period, goaltender Jake Allen made an unbelievable save on Sidney Crosby to keep the lead.
"I saw him ... he walked out in front of the net and was patient, waiting me out," Allen said of his save. "It's desperation, but at the same time there's a lot of luck involved there and sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you're not. It was an important first game of this three-game homestand."
The Devils skated into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead over their opponent and a 14-12 shot advantage.
On their 19th shot, the Penguins beat Allen. Defenseman Marcus Pettersson's slap shot beat the veteran netminder. It was his first career goal against New Jersey. Michael Bunting and Rickard Rakell were credited with the assists.
The Devils regained the lead on the power play with five minutes remaining in the middle frame. Jesper Bratt passed the puck to Luke Hughes, who shot it toward opposing netminder Tristan Jarry. Standing in front of Jarry was Timo Meier, who tipped the puck in for his 20th goal of the season.
After 40 minutes, the Devils had a 2-1 lead despite being outshot 30-24. Entering the game, New Jersey had a 21-2-1 record when leading after two periods.
Alexander Holtz, who played on a line with Jack Hughes and Erika Haula, extended his team's lead to 3-1 with his 15th of the season. His wrist shot beat Jarry eight minutes into the period. Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes assisted.
Mercer's second goal of the night came 16 seconds after Holtz's goal. It was again a full-line effort as Nosek and Palat once again collected the helpers.
The Devils extended their lead to 5-1 with Meier's second goal of the night. New Jersey was awarded a power play after Valtteri Puustinen was called for slashing against Luke Hughes. Meier stuck around the crease of the opposing net and batted in the puck after Bratt took a shot on Jarry.
With under three minutes remaining in regulation, Bryan Rust beat Allen for the Penguins' second goal of the night.
By the final horn, the Devils defeated their opponent 5-2. Allen made 36 saves on 38 shots for a .947 save percentage.
UP NEXT: The Devils will host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, March 21.
LINES:
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Jack Hughes - Erik Haula - Alexander Holtz
Ondrej Palat - Tomas Nosek - Dawson Mercer
Max Willman - Chris Tierney - Curtis Lazar
Luke Hughes - Nick DeSimone
Kevin Bahl - Brendan Smith
Santeri Hatakka - Simon Nemec
Jake Allen
Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.