Devils Say So Long to “Jersey” Jerseys and Fans in Final Home Game With Overtime Win Against Senators

Published: Sunday, April 12, 2026

by Ryan Nelke

NEWARK, N.J. - The New Jersey Devils (42-36-3) came back to defeat the Ottawa Senators (43-27-11) 4-3 in overtime on Sunday night, with this being the final game that the home squad would wear their “Jersey” Jerseys.

The night got off to a good start for New Jersey, as a scrum in front of the net resulted in Nico Hischier cleaning up the garbage, putting the Devils up one with his 27th of the season.  Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier were responsible for the traffic in front of the net, and would get credited with the assists.

Several minutes later, it appeared the same line of Meier-Hischier-Mercer would get the job done, as Hischier got positioning in front of the net, and spun around while putting a shot on net, allowing Mercer to tap it home into the open net.  However, Ottawa challenged for offsides, and it was confirmed that 27 seconds earlier, New Jersey was offside, taking the goal off the board.

At the 6:49 mark, Lenni Hameenaho would get sent off for a high sticking double minor, sending the Senators to an extended power play.  However, it would be New Jersey who would take advantage, as Jack Hughes picked up a loose puck and set up Connor Brown for a breakaway chance, who beat Ottawa’s netminder James Reimer with an accidental “no-move” deke shot for the shorthanded goal.

New Jersey would maintain their two-goal advantage, and take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

Coming out of the break, the Devils would get sent to their first power play of the night three minutes and twenty seconds in, but could not sustain any solid zone time.

Ottawa would get one back at the 12:18 mark after a shot from the point by Artem Zub was deflected in by Michael Armadio, cutting the deficit in half.

80 seconds later, the Senators were right back on the man advantage after Hameenaho was called for his second penalty of the night, this time a hooking minor.  This time, Ottawa would capitalize, with Shane Pinto scoring.  Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson tallied the assists, and in the blink of an eye, the contest was knotted up at two apiece.

Ottawa’s momentum would not stop there, as a Hughes turnover in front of the Devils net led to the go-ahead goal for the Senators, coming on the stick of the former Devil, Fabian Zetterlund.  The goal would go unassisted and Ottawa would take the 3-2 lead into the intermission.

New Jersey would get a chance to even the game up at the 15:40 mark when Nick Cousins tripped up Simon Nemec, but despite controlling the zone for a good portion of the power play, they could not find the equalizer.

The Devils thought they had found such equalizer when Hughes scored from a sharp angle after the puck came loose from under Reimer’s glove, but the referees controversially ruled that the play was dead, resulting in the home crowd bombarding them with boos.

Nikolas Matinpalo would send New Jersey to their third power play of the game at the 10:09 mark, but 67 seconds in Hughes would get called for an inference minor, and the fans let the referees hear it once again, even louder than the first time.

Once the Senators took over on the power play, the Devils rewarded the upset crowd with a second shorthanded goal, this time coming from Mercer who found open space on a breakaway, beating Reimer to even the score.  Hischier would secure the lone assist.

Ottawa would apply heavy pressure over the final 60 seconds of regulation, but could not beat New Jersey’s goaltender Nico Daws, and the game would be off to overtime tied at three.

In overtime, Drake Batherson would commit a costly slashing penalty, sending the Devils to a 4-on-3 power play.  When New Jersey set up their power play unit, Hughes would fire a shot from the point, which was deflected by Hischier.  

Reimer would halt the initial deflection, but a scrum would ensue along with several Senators, but Hischier’s stick would poke the puck through to win it for the Devils in their final home game of the season.  Dougie Hamilton would secure the secondary assist.

When asked about his performance, from a personal perspective as well as a team, Hischier said, “Yeah, I mean obviously it didn’t matter that game, but it mattered, if that makes sense…I think it was very important for us to finish strong.”

After the game, Coach Sheldon Keefe complimented the fans' passion and emotion throughout the entirety of the game, albeit knowing the team was already eliminated from playoff contention.  

“I loved how the fans responded. I mean that was an incredible performance by our fans tonight, given where we’re at and how the season has gone for them to be as engaged as they were in the game every day.”

Following the win, New Jersey will head to Boston for the final game of their season on Tuesday night against the Bruins, with puck drop set for 7 p.m.

Ryan Nelke is an Assistant Sports Director and can be reached at nelkerya@shu.edu.

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