New Jersey Devils center Dawson Mercer (91) scores a goal past Chicago Blackhawks defenseman TJ Brodie (78) and goaltender Drew Commesso (33) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Newark, N.J. The New Jersey Devils won 4-1. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

By The Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes scored his 13th goal during a big third period for New Jersey, helping the Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Saturday.

Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier each had a goal and an assist as the Devils improved to 7-3-1 in their last 11 games. Nico Hischier also scored and Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves while improving to 15-6-2 this season.

New Jersey trailed 1-0 after two periods, but it put together a strong finish against Drew Commesso in his first NHL start. Commesso finished with 20 saves.

Jason Dickinson scored for Chicago on a second-period shot that hit off the crossbar and rebounded off the face of Devils defenseman Luke Hughes and into the net.

Mercer tied the game early in the third on a pass from Luke Hughes, and New Jersey went ahead to stay by scoring three times in 126 seconds.

KINGS 5, RANGERS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Turcotte and Warren Foegele scored in the first period, and Los Angeles beat New York for their seventh win in eight games.

Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe and Phillip Danault also scored as the Kings handed the Rangers their ninth loss in 12 games. Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves.

Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar had two assists as the Kings chased Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin in the second period. Shesterkin allowed five even-strength goals on 21 shots.

Turcotte opened the scoring at 7:05, whipping the puck past Shesterkin to finish a 2-on-1 break with Kempe. Foegele made it 2-0 at 15:06 of the first.

Byfield scored at 2:46 of the second, followed by Kempe at 4:40 and Danault at 5:04.

WILD 4, FLYERS 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP ) — Kirill Kaprizov scored twice to reach 20 goals for the season as Minnesota beat Philadelphia.

Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi also scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 20 of 21 shots he faced as the Wild — at least temporarily — took the league lead in points with 44.

Samuel Ersson made 19 saves for the Flyers, who spoiled Fleury’s shutout bid on Travis Sanheim’s goal with just under six minutes remaining.

Kaprizov opened the scoring with a high shot from a bad angle that deflected off Ersson’s helmet and into the net. He added an empty-net score with 2:10 remaining.

Boldy scored on a breakaway in the second, and Rossi completed a nifty 2-on-1 with Mats Zuccarello, who returned after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury.

OILERS 6, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, and Edmonton beat Vegas for their fifth consecutive win.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor Brown each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers (18-10-2), who have won eight of nine overall. Zach Hyman, Corey Perry and Jeff Skinner also scored.

The Golden Knights (19-8-3) had won four in a row. They dropped to 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.

Victor Olofsson, Ivan Barbashev and Brett Howden scored for Vegas, and Adin Hill recorded 28 saves.

Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner finished with 38 stops.

SENATORS 3, PENGUINA 2, OT

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brady Tkachuk scored 1:46 into overtime and Ottawa beat Pittsburgh for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Thomas Chabot had a goal and an assist, and Drake Batherson also scored for the Senators. Linus Ullmark was forced into playing for the second straight night after backup Anton Forsberg suffered an injury before warmups, had 25 saves.

Blake Lizotte and Kris Letang scored for the Penguins, who lost for the third time in five games. Tristan Jarry finished with 28 saves.

Chabot opened the scoring at 7:34 of the first after Jarry was caught out of his net. It marked Chabot’s first goal in 26 games.

RED WINGS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 2

DETROIT (AP) — Jeff Petry scored his first two goals of the season and Ville Husso made 23 saves for his first victory in more than a year, helping Detroit beat Toronto.

Petry hadn’t scored since April 11 against Pittsburgh. He had three goals in 73 games last season after being acquired in an offseason trade with Montreal.

Husso’s last victory came Dec. 12 of last season. He entered 0-4-2 this season.

Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond also scored for the Red Wings, who won for just the second time in eight games. Raymond’s empty-netter was his 10th goal in the last 12 games.

Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies scored for Toronto. Joseph Woll made 22 saves.

CAPITALS 4, SABRES 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson struck twice and Washington beat Buffalo.

Dylan Strome had the game-winning goal and Jakob Chychrun iced the game with an empty-netter for the Capitals, who have won four straight.

Logan Thompson made 19 saves in the win to advance to 12-1-2.

Jason Zucker and Jiri Kulich scored for the Sabres, who have lost nine straight.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves, dropping to 8-9-3.

DUCKS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3, OT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Alex Killorn scored his second goal of the game on a breakaway at 1:43 of overtime, and Anaheim rallied to beat Columbus Blue Jackets, closing out their four-game trip with a victory.

Jackson LaCombe added a goal and an assist, and Mason McTavish scored for his 100th NHL point. Killorn added an assist, and Robby Fabbri assisted on two goals. John Gibson made 39 saves as Anaheim (11-14-4) snapped a five-game slide.

Cole Sillinger, Kirill Marchenko and James van Riemsdyk scored for Columbus (12-13-5), which has lost three straight at home and six of its last seven games. Jet Greaves made 23 saves.

JETS 4, CANADIENS 2

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves, Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist and Winnipeg beat Montreal.

Adam Lowry, Gabriel Vilardi and Vlad Namestnikov also scored for NHL-leading Winnipeg. The Jets went 2-1-1 on a four-game homestand to improve to 22-9-1.

Josh Anderson and Lane Hutson scored for Montreal, and Sam Montembeault stopped 23 shots. The Canadiens dropped to 11-16-3.

Anderson pulled Montreal to 3-2 midway through the third period before Namestnikov sealed it with an empty-netter.

Connor gave the Jets a 3-1 lead when he one-timed a pass from Vilardi on a two-man advantage in the second period.

STARS 2, BLUES 1, OT

DALLAS (AP) –Matt Duchene scored at 2:31 of overtime on an end-to-end rush from near his own goal line and Dallas beat St. Louis.

Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist for the Stars, and Jake Oettinger stopped 15 shots to improve to 11-1-0 at American Airlines Center.

Jordan Kyrou gave the Blues a 1-0 lead in the first period and Jordan Binnington finished with 35 saves.

Duchene leads Dallas with 13 goals and four game-winners.