Devils 5, Islanders 4 in OT; Rangers hold on, 4-3 in Seattle

The Devils spent the third period erasing a two-goal deficit. The Rangers spent theirs trying to keep a four-goal lead from disappearing. Both won Saturday, but the closing minutes told very different stories.

Jack Hughes scored 1:18 into overtime for a 5-4 Devils victory over the Islanders at UBS Arena. In Seattle, Joonas Korpisalo made 25 saves in his Rangers debut and New York held on for a 4-3 win.

New Jersey’s pressure finally pays

New Jersey trailed 4-2 entering the third despite generating the larger share of the shots. Luke Evangelista cut the deficit at 6:08, then Dougie Hamilton tied it on the power play at 13:42. Hughes finished a breakaway in overtime after a pass from his brother Luke.

The Devils finished with a 50-23 shot advantage. Ilya Sorokin’s 45 saves kept the Islanders in position to win, but New Jersey’s final three goals turned that effort into one standings point for New York. Hughes and Evangelista each had a goal and an assist.

New Jersey improved to 12-5-0 with its fourth straight victory. The Islanders fell to 7-6-3 after a third consecutive loss. The Devils visit Toronto on Sunday; the Islanders next play in San Jose on Monday.

A Rangers debut with a tense finish

The Rangers opened with first-period goals from Gabe Perreault, Tye Kartye and Jaroslav Chmelar. Pavel Dorofeyev made it 4-0 at 12:46 of the second, giving Korpisalo a substantial cushion in his first appearance for the club.

Seattle took most of it away in the third. Kaapo Kakko scored at 1:50, Jordan Eberle added a power-play goal at 6:38 and Vince Dunn made it a one-goal game at 15:02. The Kraken outshot the Rangers 13-4 in the period, but could not find the equalizer.

Korpisalo’s return gives New York another available goaltender after Dylan Garand’s extended workload. NHL.com reported that Korpisalo had been sidelined by a lower-body injury and that Garand had appeared in 12 straight games. The Rangers improved to 10-7-1 with their third straight win and visit Edmonton on Monday.