NEWARK, N.J. – Jusse Saros gave the Nashville Predators a second chance to win with a save on a short-handed, third-period breakaway.
Filip Forsberg and Kyle Turris took care of the rest.
Turris made a length-of-the-ice rush and snapped a shot past Keith Kinkaid 3:35 into overtime, and the Predators rallied to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 Thursday night.
Forsberg forced the overtime with a power-play goal with 6:20 left in regulation. It came less than a minute after Saros stopped a breakaway by Blake Coleman with the Devils ahead 3-2.
“It’s just Juice,” Turris said about the Finnish goaltender who has started the past three games with Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne out with an undisclosed injury. “He comes up big for us every night. He makes saves like that to keep us in games, or keep us in a lead. He’s such a good goalie.”
The save and Forsberg’s goal set things up for Turris. He made his rush, used Devils defenseman Andy Greene as a screen and beat Kinkaid.
“There’s a lot of space in overtime – it allows you to be creative and use speed and it’s exciting hockey,” Turris said. “It’s always fun to play 3-on-3. I love the open ice.”
Viktor Arvidsson and Yannick Weber also scored as the Predators sent the Devils to their third straight loss.
“That’s was a big two points and a big comeback, and it shows character to come back like that,” said Saros, who finished with 33 saves. “It was a fast game, and both teams had some chances – it was a tight one.”
Nico Hischier scored twice, Damon Severson added a goal, Kyle Palmieri had a career-high three assists and Taylor Hall added two assists – as the Devils’ top line of Hischier, Palmieri and Hall had seven points. Kinkaid made 32 saves.
Coleman was disappointed after the game.
“I just faked and dropped and tried to go upstairs on the far side,” he said. “He made a good save, and in a one-goal game I have to find a way to put that home. It came back to cost us.”
Forsberg made the Devils pay, scoring from the left circle, his seventh goal of the season. It was only the fourth power-play goal for Nashville in 35 attempts.
Saros preserved the tie in the final minutes of the third period, stopping a point-blank power-play chance by Marcus Johansson and a blast by Palmieri.
The Devils took a one-goal lead three times with the Hischier, Hall and Palmieri line doing most of the work.
Severson gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead 2:58 after the opening faceoff, scoring on a shot from the point after being set up by Hall and Hischier.
While the Predators had several great chances in the period, Weber tied the game with his first goal of the season on a soft wrist shot that Kinkaid simply missed.
Hischier put the Devils back in front with seconds left in the period with a power-play goal. Hall made the play, hitting the center stick with a pass that the Swiss center deflected past Saros.
Arvidsson, who now has four goals in his past three games, tied the score with 6:54 left in the second period with a shot from the top of the circles which hit off Kinkaid’s glove.
New Jersey went back ahead 40 seconds later when Hischier deflected Palmieri’s pass over Saros for his third goal of the season.