NEWARK, N.J. _ For 40 minutes the Red Wings were the better team and appeared headed for victory.
But, those final 20 minutes, Red Wings fans know too well how that usually turns out.
This time a bit uglier and more shocking than usual.
New Jersey scored four goals in a span of four minutes which carried the Devils to a 4-1 victory _ the Wings' second consecutive loss to begin this four-game road trip with powerhouses Boston and Pittsburgh left this weekend.
Defenseman Andy Greene, the long-time veteran from Trenton, tied the score 1-1 in the third period, then Wayne Simmonds scored two goals _ one on a power play _ and Jesper Bratt ended the barrage with his 11th goal.
That the Wings' lost isn't surprising, given their 14-41-4 record. But that the Devils rallied _ well, they entered this game 2-20-0 when trailing after 2 periods, so that was rather shocking.
The Devils (21-25-10) have won three of their last four games and defeated the Wings both times this season.
Andreas Athanasiou (power play) scored the Wings' goal.
The Devil's explosion was rather startling, and began innocently enough.
Greene's shot from the point bounced off goaltender Jonathan Bernier and into the net, only Greene's second goal of the season, at 5 minutes, 10 seconds.
Then, as usually happens with the Wings this season, the snowball effect began, grew, and just rolled over the Wings.
Simmonds gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 6:54, capping a nice tic-tac-toe passing play with Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha, as Simmonds batted the puck past a diving Bernier.
Simmonds made it 3-1 with his eighth goal, on the power play, at 8:37, putting back a rebound past Bernier, as the Wings began losing control of the game.
Bratt capped the four-goal barrage at 9:10 with his 11th goal, as the small crowd at Prudential Center roared, surprised and excited by the unexpected turn of events.
For the opening 40 minutes, special teams were the story of the game as the teams made a steady stream to the penalty box.
There were nine power plays through two periods _ five by the Devils _ with the endless penalties providing no flow to the game.
Athanasiou opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 16:34 of the second period.
Athanasiou took a drop pass from Anthony Mantha and whistled a shot from the dot past screened goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.
Bernier was stellar through two periods, including stopping 11 shots in the second period when the Devils enjoyed four power plays. But Bernier couldn't do everything against the Jersey barrage in the third period.
The Wings had the advantage in the opening 20 minutes, with two power-play attempts and a fine scoring chance by Tyler Bertuzzi on a breakaway attempt.
But Blackwood turned aside Bertuzzi's attempt, which did draw a high sticking penalty on Greene.
The Wings outshot New Jersey 12-4 in the first period, but it was Blackwood who starred in the opening 20 minutes with several fine saves.
Thursday's game was the second in which the Wings have played against June's No. 1 overall pick, Jack Hughes, who starred at the Plymouth-based US National Development Team program.
Hughes didn't get on the scoresheet _ he only has 20 points (seven goals) in what has been an educational rookie season.
"First of all, Jack's a heck of a player," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said after the morning skate, having coached Hughes at last spring's world championships. "Like any young player coming into the league, the expectation level from the outside needs to be tempered in a sense that it's really, really hard to make a huge impact as a first-year guy. If you look across the last few years, that's true of almost all the high picks that have come in.
"Jack, when I watch him, he's certainly grown and he's getting better. He looks dynamic at times for sure. I'm sure he's learned a bunch as he's gone through it. That's just the reality of the pro game."
