In a season that has offered far more questions than comfort, the New Jersey Devils delivered one of their most emotionally important wins of the year Thursday night at Prudential Center, pulling out a 3–2 overtime victory against the Nashville Predators that felt less like a routine two points and more like a temporary lifeline for a roster running dangerously thin.

New Jersey did not lead at any point in regulation. It did not control large stretches of the game. It did not look, at least on the surface, like a team with margin for error. But when the game demanded a defining moment, captain Nico Hischier provided it, burying the winner in overtime and sending the building into full release after one of the most anxious nights of the season.

The Devils’ offense arrived from three very different sources. Dougie Hamilton continued his recent offensive revival with a second-period blast that finally pulled New Jersey level. Jesper Bratt produced one of the club’s prettiest goals of the year with a dazzling individual effort to erase a third-period deficit. And Hischier, calm and precise, ended it when the Devils needed it most.

Yet even in a victory that briefly steadied a drifting season, the story of the night quickly became less about goals and more about survival.

Just minutes into the first period, star center Jack Hughes left the ice after only a handful of shifts. He briefly returned, took one short test shift, and immediately headed back down the tunnel. His night ended at just over two minutes of total ice time. Head coach Sheldon Keefe later confirmed the injury was lower-body related and did not initially appear serious, but with Hughes scheduled for further evaluation, uncertainty immediately wrapped itself around the Devils’ already fragile playoff outlook.

For a team clinging to postseason relevance, the timing could not be worse.

New Jersey entered the game already stretched down the middle. Cody Glass remained unavailable after blocking a shot earlier in the week, forcing Dawson Mercer back into center duty and pulling depth options higher into the lineup than ideal. Hughes’ early exit effectively reduced the forward group to ten functional skaters for much of the night and left the Devils navigating critical minutes with a skeleton rotation.

And still, somehow, they found a way.

The game itself began poorly. Just over five minutes in, a loose puck in front turned into a Nashville opening goal that put the Devils behind yet again. It marked yet another instance this season in which New Jersey surrendered the first goal, a trend that has repeatedly forced the club to chase games instead of controlling them.

Jacob Markstrom, however, responded with one of his steadier performances in recent weeks. After the early mistake, he settled in and turned aside chance after chance as Nashville pushed for separation. The Predators eventually found a second goal in the third period on a quick strike, but Markstrom’s work across the remaining minutes kept the Devils within reach long enough for the offense to claw its way back.

Hamilton’s equalizer midway through the second period came off an intelligent setup and a perfectly timed activation into open space. It extended what has quietly become one of the most productive stretches of his season and continued a welcome trend for a blue line that desperately needs consistent offense behind the forwards.

But Hamilton’s night, like much of the Devils’ season, was not clean. A costly turnover behind his own net later helped set up Nashville’s go-ahead goal in the third period, creating the kind of momentum swing that has buried New Jersey more often than not this winter.

This time, the response was immediate.

With Nashville attempting to exit the zone, Mercer disrupted the play at the blue line and forced a turnover that landed directly on Bratt’s stick. What followed was a moment of individual brilliance. Bratt froze the goaltender with a flurry of quick moves before sliding the puck home to tie the game at two and reignite a building that had spent most of the night waiting for something to believe in.

For Bratt, whose goal scoring has lagged behind his playmaking this season, the finish offered more than style points. It hinted at badly needed offensive rhythm at exactly the point in the schedule when New Jersey can least afford prolonged droughts.

Overtime belonged to the captain.

Mercer, again involved in the decisive sequence, intercepted a dangerous cross-ice feed that could have ended the game the other way. He calmly carried the puck out of trouble and sent it forward to Hischier, who finished the play with authority to deliver a win that felt larger than the standings might suggest.

On paper, it was simply a 3–2 overtime result against a Western Conference opponent. In reality, it represented a fragile pause in a season that has been battered by injuries, uneven goaltending and inconsistent finishing.

That reality is impossible to ignore.

With Hughes sidelined and Glass uncertain, the Devils’ center depth is suddenly one of the most glaring vulnerabilities in the entire playoff race. If Hughes were to miss additional time, New Jersey would be forced to lean almost exclusively on Hischier for top-line matchups, with Mercer absorbing difficult assignments behind him and a collection of depth forwards filling roles that stretch well beyond their intended usage.

For a club already struggling to generate sustained offense at five-on-five, that scenario threatens to push an already thin margin into dangerous territory.

Complicating matters further is the continuing absence of Luke Hughes on the back end. His mobility and transition ability have been irreplaceable within the Devils’ defensive structure. Without him, New Jersey’s blue line loses its most dynamic puck transporter and one of its most reliable escape valves when pressure collapses toward the defensive zone. The cumulative effect of missing both Hughes brothers at the same time would be profound.

The Devils’ roster has also undergone meaningful change in the days leading into this game. The organization officially turned the page on a difficult free-agent contract by moving Ondrej Palat to the Islanders, bringing back winger Maxim Tsyplakov in the process and freeing valuable cap space for the months ahead.

Tsyplakov made his Devils debut Thursday, but the first impression was uneven. His shifts were limited, and he struggled to influence play in a meaningful way. Keefe shortened his bench noticeably, a decision made even more striking by the fact that the team was already down a forward after Hughes exited. Whether Tsyplakov settles into a defined role remains one of the more intriguing short-term questions for a roster that still needs size, forechecking presence and secondary scoring.

While one newcomer fought through an uneven debut, another young piece continued to strengthen his case for long-term inclusion.

Lenni Hameenaho once again stood out through smart positioning, strong puck support and a growing confidence in dangerous areas of the ice. He recorded a primary assist on Hamilton’s goal, generated multiple high-quality looks, drew a penalty and consistently found soft ice between coverage layers. His underlying numbers continued to reflect what the eye test already suggests: he belongs at this level, and he is giving the Devils badly needed depth offense during a stretch when every productive shift matters.

The moment carried added emotion with Hameenaho’s family in attendance, watching his progress firsthand inside a building that has increasingly become a proving ground for the organization’s next wave of contributors.

All of this unfolds against the backdrop of a tightening schedule and a looming Olympic break. The Devils sit outside the playoff picture with little time left to build momentum before the roster freeze. Every game now carries amplified importance, not only for the standings, but for the front office’s approach to the trade deadline.

General manager Tom Fitzgerald’s recent move cleared flexibility and created opportunity. Whether that opportunity becomes a final push or a longer-term reset depends almost entirely on health.

Since returning from his earlier hand injury, Hughes has continued to drive play and produce points, even while appearing visibly limited at times. His presence alone alters matchups, opens space for linemates and stabilizes a forward group that lacks another true offensive engine at center. Without him, New Jersey’s ability to consistently create offense against structured opponents becomes an open question.

Thursday’s win, uplifting as it was, does not erase that reality.

What it does offer is proof that the room remains engaged, resilient and willing to grind through uncomfortable situations. The Devils played most of the night without their top offensive weapon, absorbed mistakes, leaned on their captain and found just enough execution to survive.

For a team fighting to remain relevant in a crowded Eastern Conference race, survival is no longer a bonus. It is the standard.

As the Devils prepare for a difficult road matchup in Ottawa, the pressure will only intensify. The Senators sit in a similar position, battling for every remaining point before the break. For New Jersey, the formula is now painfully clear: protect what little center depth remains, squeeze offense wherever it can be found, and hope that the growing list of injuries does not outpace the team’s ability to compete.

For fans tracking every twist of this uncertain season and following the broader evolution of the franchise through Explore New Jersey’s complete coverage of the New Jersey Devils, Thursday night offered a reminder of what this group still has when it leans into its identity: speed when available, creativity when it dares, and leadership when everything else begins to wobble.

The Devils are not out of it yet.

But after one dramatic overtime escape, they are also unmistakably running out of room.