NEWARK, N.J. — Ryan Spooner scored his first NHL goal with 2:14 left in overtime and the Boston Bruins defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Friday night after blowing a two-goal third-period lead.

Daniel Paille and David Pastrnak scored for Boston, which won for only the second time in nine games (2-5-2). Niklas Svedberg had 29 saves starting for the ailing Tuukka Rask, who had played in the last 18 games for Boston.

Travis Zajac and Jordin Tootoo tallied for New Jersey. Cory Schneider made 31 saves as the Devils lost their second straight and fell nine points behind Boston in the race for the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Bruins, who swept the three-game season series, are four points ahead of idle Florida for the final wild-card position.

Spooner, playing in his eighth game this season, scored on a snap shot from the left boards on a counter attack. Pastrnak made the cross-ice pass and Spooner beat Schneider high. Spooner was playing his 35th NHL game.

Svedberg got the Bruins to overtime by stopping Martin Havlat with just over a minute to play and then making a pad save on Mike Cammalleri in the closing seconds. He also stopped Scott Gomez in the overtime from the left circle.

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New Jersey rallied from a two-goal deficit by scoring twice in a 2:09 span in the third period.

Chris Kelly helped the Devils get started, picking up a hooking penalty. Less than a minute later, Jacob Josefson sent a pass to Adam Henrique near the crease and it hit off his stick. The puck went to Zajac, who broke a 15-game drought with a shot into an open net.

Then a turnover by defenseman Dougie Hamilton was intercepted by Cammalleri. He carried into the Bruins’ zone, cut across the crease and sent a back pass to Tootoo for a shot into an open net for his sixth goal.

The Devils seemed out of the game early in the third period when Pastrnak scored his seventh goal by putting in his own rebound at 1:40, shortly after a penalty to New Jersey defenseman Mark Fraser expired.

Schneider complained after the puck went into the net, insisting Kelly interfered with him. However, the officials felt the forward was pushed into the crease by a New Jersey player.

Boston had gotten on the scoreboard in the first period on a bang-bang play. Paille passed from center ice on the right boards into the left corner in the Devils’ end. New Jersey defenseman Adam Larsson was pressured by Carl Soderberg and had his pass up the boards intercepted by Loui Eriksson. He passed to a wide-open Paille for a slam-dunk goal before Schneider could react.

It was Paille’s second goal in as many games since returning after being benched for two games following a 36-game goal drought.

Svedberg, who shut the Devils out 3-0 on Jan. 8 when he faced only 14 shots, was at his best in the latter half of the second period when the Devils’ offense woke up. His best save was a point-blank stop on Cammalleri on a shot set up by big hit behind the net by Tootoo.


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