NEWARK, N.J. _ The Devils nearly got the overtime monkey off their backs on Saturday night at Prudential center but with just 16.3 seconds left Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele potted a rebound to end the game.
While they managed to earn a point, ultimately they were handed a 4-3 loss by the Jets. It was not only their fifth overtime loss this season (0-5) but it was their fifth straight overall (0-2-3).
After Josh Morrissey finished off a Mason Appleton wraparound at 10:32 in the third to break a 1-1 tie Andrew Copp buried a chance at 13:21 to give the Jets a 3-1 lead.
But Jesper Bratt broke the Devils' scoreless streak on the power play with 4:19 to play putting the Devils behind 3-2.
With two minutes left, Taylor Hall finished off a goalmouth scramble with the extra attacker on the ice to tie the game at 3. The Jets challenged the call but it stood and the game went into overtime.
Keith Kinkaid, playing in back-to-back games for the first time this season, made 34 saves and singlehandedly kept the Devils in the game during overtime making an impressive series of saves. Marcus Johansson scored his third goal in four games for the Devils and his second in as many nights when he opened the scoring in the first period. Bratt had the assist for his third goal and fourth point in four games.
The Jets tied the game 4:25 into the second period thanks, in large part, to a costly error by Devils' defenseman Mirco Mueller.
Mueller was anticipating a shot from Blake Wheeler and dove to block it. Wheeler waited it out and slid a cross-ice feed through the low slot to Mark Scheifele, who one-timed it past Kinkaid.
Johansson caught his own rebound and ripped a shot from the edge of the right circle past Laurent Brossoit at 6:45 in the first period to put the home team up 1-0.
The Devils generated plenty, with maybe the problematic power play being the exception, and they did an effective job of slowing the speedy Jets by keeping them toward the outside against the walls throughout the first 40 minutes of the game.
They had one particularly strong chance to take a lead in the second period at the expiration of a power play. But they let the Jets steamroll through their own end in the third period which resulted in the Morrissey goal.
Defenseman Will Butcher was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. The third-pairing blueliner and the top power-play unit quarterback hasn't made much of an impact of as of late and has struggled to put himself in a position where his minutes aren't heavily managed.
"In this decision right now, we need Will to be better in certain areas," coach John Hynes said before the game. "He cares a lot and is a younger player, so it's time for him to take a break here and let's reassess his game, his mentality and get him back to the level where we need him to be."
However, with Sami Vatanen running the top power-play unit the results weren't much different: The Devils' streak went to 0-for-15 until Bratt's power play goal in the third.
