Devils defenseman Jon Merrill scored his first NHL goal 2:34 into overtime and New Jersey defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Friday night in Newark.
Cory Schneider made 19 saves and Andrei Loktionov scored in regulation as the Devils snapped a two-game skid.
Taylor Hall had the goal for the Oilers, who lost for only the second time in seven games (5-1-1). Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves for Edmonton.
New Jersey had blown leads late in the third period of its past three games.
This time, Adam Henrique and Michael Ryder won a battle in the corner during overtime, and Ryder found Merrill alone for a shot from above the left circle.
Hurricanes 5, Panthers 1: At Raleigh, N.C., Riley Nash and Alexander Semin scored 87 seconds apart in the first period for Carolina. Brett Bellemore, Jiri Tlusty and Andrej Sekera also scored to help the Hurricanes win their seventh in 10 games. Eric Staal set the club record for career shots on goal, passing Hall of Famer Ron Francis. Staal finished with four shots, giving him 2,542. Nick Bjugstad scored for Florida, which enters the Olympic break having lost five of six.
Coyotes: Phoenix honored the 1980 U.S. Olympic Miracle on Ice team before the team’s game against Chicago, capping two days of celebrations designed as a send-off to the Sochi Olympics. Ten members of the gold-medal team were introduced on the ice before the game.
Wild: Center Mikko Koivu decided his surgically repaired right ankle has not healed enough to let him play for Finland in the Olympics. Koivu had surgery after fracturing his right ankle while blocking a shot Jan. 4. Koivu captained the 2011 and 2012 Finnish world championship teams, including the 2011 team that won the gold medal.
Capitals: Sweden has put Marcus Johansson in injured Henrik Sedin’s spot for the Sochi Games. Johansson has seven goals and 36 points for Washington.
Predators: U.S. Olympic hockey general manager David Poile is expected to delay his scheduled trip to the Sochi Games this weekend as he recovers from two surgical procedures after getting hit in the face with an errant puck. He is also Nashville’s GM.
Canadiens: Defenseman Alexei Emelin has been fined $5,000 by the NHL for hitting Vancouver forward Pascal Pelletier with the butt end of his stick Thursday.
