Nick Bjugstad and Nick Schmaltz scored in the shoot-out on Friday as the Arizona Coyotes recovered after giving up a two-goal lead and rallied to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3.
Schmaltz also had a goal and an assist in regulation time, while Matt Dumba and Sean Durzi also scored for the Coyotes in their regular-season opener.
Rookie forward Logan Cooley had two assists in his NHL debut and Karel Vejmelka made 33 saves.
Photo: AFP
“We played an elite team. We knew what to expect,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “We had urgency. We had pace.”
Jesper Bratt had two goals and an assist, Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist, and Jack Hughes had three assists for New Jersey, who lost one night after beating the Detroit Red Wings at home 4-3 in their opener.
Akira Schmid finished with 30 saves.
Bjugstad and Schmaltz scored on Arizona’s two attempts in the shoot-out, and Vejmelka stopped New Jersey’s Timo Meier and Bratt to secure the win.
“Everybody came to play. We have a lot of new guys and there was a lot of excitement in the room,” said Schmaltz, who is in his sixth season with the Coyotes. “We did a really good job and we were hard on them.”
Dumba opened the scoring 6 minutes, 22 seconds into the first period, rifling a shot past Schmid.
Dumba made his Coyotes debut after signing as a free agent following 10 seasons with the Minnesota Wild.
Durzi made it 2-0 on the power-play 4 minutes, 23 seconds into the second period, but the Devils then scored three goals in an 11-minute span to take the lead.
“It was a disappointing start to the game; first period again,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said of his team’s slow start. “I thought they looked fresher, ready to play in their first game. We know there’s no easy game so if you don’t have your ‘A’ game right off the bat, the other team could take it to you.”
Bratt got New Jersey on the scoreboard 8 minutes, 9 seconds into the second period, sending a pass from Hughes past Vejmelka, and Hamilton tied it with his second goal in two nights with 7 minutes, 31 seconds left in the period.
Bratt got his second goal of the game with 1 minute, 7 seconds remaining in the second to put New Jersey ahead 3-2.
Schmaltz converted on the power-play with 6 minutes, 5 seconds left in the third period to tie it again off a pass from Cooley.
“I just whacked it and it went in,” Schmaltz said.
Hughes, who led the Devils with 43 goals and 99 points last season, now has five points in two games after scoring twice the previous night.
In Washington, Sidney Crosby scored twice on the power-play, while Evgeni Malkin had a goal and three assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 4-0.
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