It looked like the perfect record at home was going to end. Instead, the New Jersey Devils rallied back from a one-goal deficit late in regulation to pull out a hard fought 4-3 win in overtime over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night in Newark.

Jesper Bratt scored at 1:33 of overtime to make it six-for-six on home ice for the Devils. After pressuring Alex Newhook at the blue line, Bratt stole the puck and walked in and beat Canadiens rookie Jakub Dobes for the victory, improving New Jersey to 6-0-0 at The Prudential Center.

On a good team headlined by leading scorer Jack Hughes and captain Nico Hischier, the 27-year-old Bratt continues to fly under the radar for the red and black. One of the game’s most unheralded stars, the 2016 sixth round pick is by far the Devils’ most electric scoring wing on a roster that also includes Timo Meier.

It was Meier’s goal with 1:07 left in regulation that forced extras. On a play set up by both Bratt and Hughes, Meier was able to dig out a loose puck in front and steer it past Dobes for his first goal in 10 games (Oct. 16 vs. Fla). It was a critical one for Meier, who had been slumping after a good start.

The Devils need him to produce to remain at the top of a competitive Metropolitan Division. With both the Penguins and Hurricanes each winning, the top three teams are separated by two points. Despite having the same amount of points (20), the Pens have played one more game than the Devils, who upped their record to 10-4-0 by defeating the first place Canadiens (9-3-2) in a well played game.

Boosted by the return of Cody Glass, who slid back in to center the third line, the Devils grabbed an early lead just 93 seconds in. Glass retrieved a loose puck, entered the zone, and surprised Dobes with a wrist shot that went under his glove. He missed the previous seven games with an upper-body injury. Since Devils team president and general manager Tom Fitzgerald acquired him from the Penguins on Mar. 7, he’s been a good support player. After putting up two goals and five assists for seven points in 14 games last season, Glass has three goals in seven games this season.

It was the play of the third line that stood out for most of the game. Glass played in between Ondrej Palat and Arseny Gritsyuk. According to Natural Stat Trick, the line had a strong night by posting a team-leading 69.23 CF while holding a 5-3 edge in shots. They weren’t at fault on Kirby Dach’s tying goal, which came less than a minute later. Dach got a fortunate break when Noah Dobson’s point shot banked off his back and in past Jacob Markstrom to tie the score. He would later bump into Markstrom later for goaltender interference.

Despite having some good looks, the Devils power play was unable to cash in. Even though they finished the game a disappointing 0-for-5, they certainly had their chances. The top unit that features Bratt, Hischier, Hughes, Luke Hughes, and Dawson Mercer are dangerous due to how quickly they move the puck around. There were a few close calls. Even though they did a good job limiting the Canadiens to four shots in the first period, the Devils remained tied at one into intermission.]

The second was back-and-forth. Both teams are very fast getting through the neutral zone, which meant some entertaining hockey in transition. The Canadiens spent a little more time on the forecheck. It’s an area they seemed focused on as the game moved along. The Habs are a young, exciting team featuring emerging stars Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, and speedy rookie Ivan Demidov. They can really create chances quickly. For the most part, the Devils did a good job defensively by holding them to a combined four shots.

With the game still tied, the Devils got some much needed production from an unexpected source. Entering the game, it had been a rough go for Palat, who came in with only one assist. A disappointing player since joining the Devils on Jun. 14, 2022, the former Lightning forward finally got his first goal of the season. On a good play from Simon Nemec, who pinched down to keep it moving, Nemec made a no-look pass that Palat buried in the back of the net to put the Devils back in front at 8:05. After he scored, Palat put his hands to his head in relief.

By that point, the Devils were playing without Dougie Hamilton. The top point getter among Devils defensemen, Hamilton left the game with a lower-body injury that looked to occur during a board battle with Juraj Slafkovsky in his end. Head coach Sheldon Keefe didn’t provide any upset earlier today. He said that Hamilton was still being evaluated.

The Devils are already without top defensive defenseman Brett Pesce, who was placed on the injured reserve yesterday. It looks like they could be playing this weekend minus Hamilton as well. On Saturday afternoon, they host the Pens in another fascinating early matchup. Obviously, Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon could see a lot of time against Sidney Crosby tomorrow. Jonas Siegenthaler and Nemec will likely draw the assignment against Evgeni Malkin. Figure Hischier to be matched up against the Crosby line.

The Devils also probably won’t have Connor Brown available. He missed last night’s game with an undisclosed injury. The checking forward has been another good player in his first year for New Jersey. In 11 games, he has five goals and an assist. Brown hasn’t played since Oct. 30.

As for the remainder of the second period, Dobes made some key stops on both Bratt and Jack Hughes to keep the Canadiens within striking distance. He fought off a tough Gritsyuk shot on a rush. On the flip side, Jacob Markstrom’s best save on Oliver Kapanen. He was fine in the first two periods, stopping all 12 shots.

At the start of the third, things changed quickly. After taking a Josh Anderson feed at center ice, Jake Evans was able to sneak a routine shot past Markstrom to tie the score at 59 seconds. It was a soft goal. Markstrom let it go right through the wickets much to the chagrin of the sellout crowd of 16,514. It hasn’t been a good start for the 35-year-old netminder, who Fitzgerald recently signed to a two-year, $12 million contract extension. If they want to go far, the Devils will need much better play from Markstrom than what they’ve gotten. Despite winning four of five starts, he hasn’t been sharp.

With the game tied, they had two straight power plays after Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble took two separate minors. However, the Devils didn’t get much done. The Habs did a better job taking away the middle of the ice to hold the Devils to only a single shot.

Back at even strength, it was Montreal who surged ahead. On a Stefan Noesen turnover in the corner, Newhook fired a shot from a sharp angle that Markstrom mishandled. That allowed Kapanen to bury the bad rebound to give the Canadiens their first lead with 9:27 left in regulation.

After Gritsyuk had a shot graze off the crossbar, Markstrom recovered to make a crucial stop on Slafkovsky. The Canadiens began to take the neutral zone away and make life difficult on the Devils, who were pressed for time. They finally got Markstrom off for an extra skater with over two minutes left.

With over a minute to go, Meier was able to tie it. Earlier in the shift, he was all set up for a one-timer with Dobes out of position before a diving block from Mike Matheson prevented the tying goal sooner. Later on, Hughes threw the puck on net. The low shot through a maze of bodies was just enough to cause a rebound opportunity. Before Dobes could cover it, Meier beat a hobbled Matheson to put home the loose puck at 18:53.

In overtime, it didn’t last long. Of course not with these two teams involved in a three-on-three. All it took was Newhook trying to force a pass inside the Devils blue line to lead to a Bratt clean breakaway goal that won it. After taking away the puck, Bratt broke in and patiently waited before tucking in a backhand to give the Devils the overtime win.

Following a disappointing road trip that saw them go 1-3-0, the Devils are on a three-game home stand. After the Pens visit tomorrow, they’ll get their first look at impressive 2025 number one pick Matthew Schaefer when the Islanders invade Newark on Monday. That’ll be the last home game for a while. The next five will all be on the road. Considering how much better they play at home, it’s a good chance for the Devils to pocket four more points. We’ll see how they handle some more adversity due to the injuries.