NEWARK, N.J. _ Winger Chris Stewart had been loitering on the periphery of the Wild's playoff push, skating as the extra on the fourth line in practice and taking a spectator's perch when it was time for puck drop.
But when he cracked the lineup Thursday, just his third nod this month after sitting as a healthy scratch seven of the previous nine games, Stewart made the rare appearance count.
The veteran tallied the game-winning goal in a 4-2 comeback win over the Devils in front of 13,316 at Prudential Center that secured the team's second win on a three-game road trip that wraps Friday against the Rangers.
Stewart was the poster boy of a show-stealing performance by the Wild's fringe contributors, as the fourth line accounted for two goals and seventh defenseman Mike Reilly added the other _ another shrewd tweak by coach Bruce Boudreau since Reilly had been idle the last four games.
And backup Alex Stalock, tasked with handling the first half of the back-to-back, pocketed 38 saves.
All three goals came in the span of 5 minutes, 36 seconds in the second period to erase a two-goal hole.
That deficit began to form in the first period amid a slow start for the Wild; the team committed three penalties in the period and put just six pucks on net.
New Jersey, meanwhile, peppered Stalock by racking up 18 shots and an early lead. On their second power play, the Devils capitalized on a blistering shot from winger Taylor Hall at 10:27. Hall was left alone in the right faceoff circle to sling the puck through traffic, extending his personal point streak to 20 games _ an eyepopping stretch in which he's amassed 28 points.
The Devils' early eagerness carried over to the second, with winger Stefan Noesen pouncing on a loose puck in front at 4:17 to up the team's lead to 2.
Nearing the midway point of the period, though, the Wild started to mount a rally.
Reilly's shot bounced off goalie Eddie Lack and then caromed off defenseman John Moore before tumbling into the net at 7:28, not long after a Wild power play expired. The team finished 0-for-2; New Jersey was 1-for-3.
Later in the period, winger Daniel Winnik cut to the middle and sent the puck across the crease for center Joel Eriksson Ek to redirect in at 12:25. It was the second straight game in which Eriksson Ek scored after nixing a 50-game drought in the 5-3 win over the Islanders on Monday.
The very next shot belonged to Stewart, and he buried it five-hole on Lack at 13:04 after picking the puck up at the Wild's blue line and leading a two-on-one rush with Eriksson Ek _ his first goal since Dec. 19, a 14-game hiatus.
And he celebrated by dropping down to a knee and unleashing a drawn-out fist pump before being mobbed by teammates.
What made the goal even more memorable was defenseman Nick Seeler's assist, his first NHL point.
While that frenetic response by the Wild handed them the lead, it also forced them to defend the edge for almost half the game.
But that wasn't a problem, with Stalock standing strong _ especially in the third period where he made 16 stops _ and center Eric Staal turning in an empty-net goal with 1:18 to go for his 900th career point. Lack totaled 21 saves.
