NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils lost 32 overtime games over the past two seasons, more than any other team in the Eastern Conference.
Things have gone a little better this season.
Kyle Palmieri scored on the power play with 1:27 left in overtime and the Devils endured a rally by the Vancouver Canucks for a 4-3 victory on Sunday night.
The Devils have won five straight games that have headed to overtime since losing to the Sharks in a shootout on Oct. 16.
"It was nice to make one count there in the end," Mike Cammalleri said.
The Canucks made it 3-3 with consecutive goals by Alexander Edler and Sven Baertschi 2:07 apart in the second period, with Baertschi tying it with 5:54 left.
Between those goals, fights broke out pitting Derek Dorsett against Jordin Tootoo and Jake Virtanen against Bobby Farnham.
After the game, Tootoo claimed Alexandre Burrows made disparaging comments about his "personal life and family" while both were serving penalties. Tootoo released a book last year detailing his struggles with alcoholism following his brother Terence’s suicide in 2002.
Tootoo said he challenged Burrows to a fight and the forward declined.
"I have no respect for that guy," Tootoo said. "Nor should the league. They shouldn’t tolerate stuff like that."
Keith Kinkaid made 28 saves, and Cammalleri, Adam Henrique and Sergey Kalinin also scored for New Jersey. The Devils have won four of their past five games and eight of 10 since a 0-3-1 start.
"You want to make home ice a tough place to play. That goes a long way in an 82-game season," Palmieri said. "You want teams to know the identity you have."
Ryan Miller made 24 saves, Chris Higgins also scored and Vancouver lost its third straight.
"The close games, they have been slipping away from us," Baertschi said. "There’s reasons for it. It might be tiny little mistakes."
Higgins scored 2:20 into the game, but then Henrique and Cammalleri got goals later in the first and Kalinin made it 3-1 midway through the second.
Henrique scored his team-leading seventh of the season with a short-handed goal 5:18 in. The tally ended a sequence which began with Travis Zajac forcing a neutral-zone turnover before carrying the puck into the offensive zone. Zajac skated down the right wing, opening a lane down the middle for Henrique. From there, he took a pass from Zajac and beat Miller with a deke.
Cammalleri snapped the tie with 3:28 left on a backhander from the slot.
Virtanen appeared to tie it for Vancouver moments later, but Devils coach John Hynes challenged the call and a video review showed Burrows in the crease, causing the on-ice call to be overruled.
Kalinin got his first NHL goal at 10:31 of the second period. The Devils’ rookie held off Radim Vrbata as the two curled around the net before whipping a shot from the right circle.
New Jersey lost defenceman Adam Larsson for the game after he was assessed a 5-minute major for interference and a game misconduct for a hit on Jared McCann midway through the third period.
NOTES: The late-afternoon matinee was the second of seven on the road for the Canucks, their longest road trip of the season. … Eric Gelinas and Stefan Matteau were scratched by the Devils. Gelinas has played in 10 of New Jersey’s 15 games this season, while Matteau has dressed for six. … Defenceman Alex Biega was called up on an emergency basis by the Canucks, who inserted him into the lineup in place of Christopher Tanev. Coach Willie Desjardins diagnosed Tanev as "day to day." … Zajac entered the game second in the NHL with a 33.3 per cent shooting percentage. … The announced attendance was 14,896.
