Devils 4 Blues 2
NEWARK, N.J. — Dakota Mermis scored his first NHL goal, fellow defenceman Connor Carrick got his first of the season and the New Jersey Devils stunned St. Louis 4-2 on Friday night to snap the Blues’ eight-game winning streak.
Cory Schneider made 31 saves in helping New Jersey end a 12-game skid against the defending Stanley Cup champions, dating to January 2014. Jesper Bratt also scored and Joey Anderson iced the game with an empty-net goal.
Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz scored for the Blues, who coincidentally started their winning streak with a 3-0 victory over New Jersey on Feb. 18. Jordan Binnington had 28 saves in losing for the first time in seven starts.
Schwartz’s goal with 3:11 left in regulation cut the Blues’ deficit to a goal, but Anderson tallied his third of the season with 57 seconds left.
The Devils won despite having what would have been a third second-period goal nullified because Kevin Rooney’s skate prevented Binnington from using his pads to stop a shot.
Mermis, who was recalled from Binghamton last month, broke a 1-all tie with a remarkable shot. He got the puck backing up in the left circle and wristed a shot past a seemingly screened Binnington that found the top right corner of the net at 6:50. Playing in his 18th career game, he laughed about it on the bench.
Carrick, who was playing in his 27th game this season, upped the lead to 3-1 with a wrist shot from the point at 17:58 that Binnington also didn’t see.
Schneider, who was also recalled from Binghamton last month and got an assist on Mermis’ goal, stopped nine shots in the final 20 minutes to improve to 3-0-1 since returning.
Bratt had given the Devils the lead 8:38 after the opening faceoff. He swooped around defenceman Colton Parayko and beat Binnington with a forehand for his fifth goal in eight games.
Dunn tied it with a power-play goal on a rebound.
NOTES: Devils D Will Butcher will miss the rest of the season following surgery to fix ruptured thumb ligaments. … Blues C Jordan Kyrou returned to lineup after missing two games with an illness. … St. Louis D Justin Faulk (upper body) missed his first game of the season. … Blues C Brayden Schenn had a five-game goal-scoring streak snapped.
UP NEXT:
Blues: play Blackhawks in Chicago on Sunday night.
Devils: go to New York City to face Rangers on Saturday night.