Pius Suter scored the go-ahead goal, Magnus Hellberg made 20 saves in his first NHL appearance in five years, and the Detroit Red Wings closed out their season with a 5-3 win over the host New Jersey Devils on Friday.
Hellberg had not appeared in an NHL contest since April 9, 2017, as a member of the New York Rangers. Hellberg, 31, played the last five seasons in Russia.
Tyler Bertuzzi scored his 30th goal on an empty-netter in the closing seconds. Michael Rasmussen, Moritz Seider and Joe Veleno also scored for Detroit (32-40-10, 74 points).
Dawson Mercer, Nolan Foote and Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Devils (27-46-9, 63 points), who also lost a home contest to Detroit 3-0 last weekend. Mackenzie Blackwood made 30 saves.
Rasmussen scored his 15th goal just 1:08 into the contest. He wheeled into the slot and whipped a shot past Blackwood. Oskar Sundqvist and Jake Walman picked up the assists.
Mercer scored his first goal in 19 games and 17th of the season after a Detroit turnover in its own zone. Zetterlund set up Mercer’s goal.
Seider, a top candidate for the Rookie of the Year award, put Detroit back on top at 6:30 of the second period. He rifled a shot from the point that eluded Blackwood’s glove. Sam Gagner and Rasmussen had the assists.
Foote tied it again when he notched his third goal, redirecting a Dougie Hamilton shot. Jesper Boqvist had the second assist at 15:38 of the period.
Detroit took a 3-2 lead during the first minute of the third. Bertuzzi collected his own rebound, skated behind the Devils’ net and fed Veleno for his eighth goal.
Zetterlund tied it with his third goal at 6:57. He scored from the left side off passes from Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt.
The Wings’ next go-ahead goal wasn’t determined until a video review. A Suter shot at 10:33 trickled between Blackwood’s pads and barely crossed the goal line. Initially, the officials didn’t call it a goal and let play continue. Jakub Vrana chalked up an assist.
–Field Level Media
Jamie Benn’s power-play goal broke a tie late in the third period and helped give the visiting Dallas Stars a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks and a berth in…
An offensive second period powered the Arizona Coyotes to an 8-4 win in Tempe, Ariz., on Thursday night, snapping Nashville’s franchise-record 18-game point streak. Nick Bjugstad scored the eventual winning…
Surging Stars sink Canucks, clinch playoff spot
Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller lead Coyotes past Predators
Igor Shesterkin shuts down Avs as Rangers win in shootout
Kraken drop Ducks for 2nd straight win