Jack Hughes Scores 1:18 Into Overtime as Devils Rally to Beat Islanders 5-4

Jack Hughes scored 1:18 into overtime on Saturday night, completing a New Jersey Devils comeback from a two-goal third-period deficit in a 5-4 win over the New York Islanders at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. The Devils looked beaten when the Islanders held a two-goal lead in the third period, but New Jersey forced overtime and finished the job early in the extra session. Hughes, who also finished with two points on the night, delivered the winner and extended one of the hottest runs in the NHL, as the Devils won their fourth straight game and their eighth in their past nine.

Key Points

• Jack Hughes scored the overtime winner 1:18 into the extra period as the New Jersey Devils beat the New York Islanders 5-4 on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y.
• New Jersey overcame a two-goal third-period deficit to force overtime, with Evan Rodrigues, Declan Chisholm, Luke Evangelista and Dougie Hamilton also scoring for the Devils.
• Hughes and Evangelista each finished with two points, and goaltender Jake Allen made 19 saves for New Jersey.
• Anthony Duclair, Matthew Schaefer, Simon Holmstrom and Victor Eklund scored for the Islanders, who have lost three straight games (0-2-1).
• Ilya Sorokin made 45 saves for the Islanders and Bo Horvat recorded two assists in the losing effort.

What Happened

The Islanders built a two-goal lead in the third period at home, with Sorokin stopping almost everything thrown at him, and were in position to hand the Devils a rare defeat. Then the game turned: New Jersey clawed its way back, levelled the score and carried the momentum into overtime, where Hughes needed only 78 seconds to end it.

The comeback was a team effort. Rodrigues, Chisholm, Evangelista and Hamilton all found the net alongside Hughes, and Evangelista matched Hughes with two points. Allen held the line with 19 saves while his team chased the game. For the Islanders, the goals came from throughout the lineup — Duclair, Schaefer, Holmstrom and Eklund all scored, and Horvat set up two of them — but four goals were not enough. Sorokin's 45 saves kept the Islanders in front deep into the third period, yet the Devils kept coming in waves, and one clean look in overtime was all Hughes needed.

Background: Two Teams Heading in Opposite Directions

The result continued two trends for these Metropolitan Division rivals. New Jersey has been one of the NHL's form teams, winning four straight and eight of its past nine, while the Islanders have now lost three in a row after a night in which they did much of what a coach asks for and still lost.

Just four days earlier, on Tuesday, November 3, Hughes scored twice in 45 seconds as New Jersey beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in a shootout at Prudential Center. Hughes scored twice in 45 seconds as the Devils edged the Oilers 4-3 in a shootout. That night, like Saturday, the Devils found the decisive goal when the game was there to be won.

Jack Hughes Overtime Goal Caps Another Devils Rally

Hughes has made a habit of deciding games for New Jersey this season, and Saturday's winner was the latest example. The overtime goal at 1:18 was the finish of a player who has repeatedly produced in the biggest moments of the Devils' season. His two-point night against the Islanders followed the two goals in 45 seconds against Edmonton four days earlier, a stretch that underlines how central he has become to everything New Jersey does in attack.

What made the winner possible was the work around him. Evangelista, who also finished with two points, scored during the comeback, and the goals from Rodrigues, Chisholm and Hamilton showed a lineup contributing from every line. At 1:18 of overtime, the Islanders had barely settled into the extra period before the game was over — sudden death means one opening is enough, and Hughes found it.

Reactions

For New Jersey, a fourth straight win keeps the Devils among the form teams in the league, and the manner of the win — coming back from two goals down in the third period on the road — will matter as much as the two points. The Devils now have two such wins in four days.

For the Islanders, the frustration will be that so much went right: Sorokin's 45 saves, four different scorers, two assists from Horvat and a two-goal third-period lead at home. To lose from that position, in overtime, is the kind of defeat that lingers. The challenge now is to turn those positives into a win before the slide grows.

Why It Matters

Comebacks from two goals down in the third period are not accidents; they are a measure of a team's belief. The Devils have now done it on the road against a division rival, in a game where the Islanders' goaltender was playing at his best. That kind of win changes how a team sees itself, and it changes how opponents prepare for it. Teams facing New Jersey now know that a two-goal lead in the third period is not safe.

The standings make it matter more. In a division where playoff places are decided by a handful of points, a game like this one, decided in overtime after a blown two-goal lead, can be the difference between the two clubs by the end of the season.

What Happens Next

The Devils will look to extend their winning run to five straight, carrying the momentum of two comeback wins in four days into their next game. The depth scoring — goals from Rodrigues, Chisholm, Evangelista and Hamilton on Saturday — suggests the attack can keep producing even when Hughes is not the one finishing.

The Islanders face a more urgent task: stopping a three-game slide before it becomes a longer one. They have the pieces — Sorokin's goaltending, Horvat's playmaking, goals from four different players on Saturday — but they need to turn a two-goal third-period lead at home into two points.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the final score between the Devils and Islanders?
New Jersey beat the New York Islanders 5-4 in overtime on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. Jack Hughes scored the winner 1:18 into overtime.

Who scored for the Devils?
Jack Hughes scored the overtime winner, and Evan Rodrigues, Declan Chisholm, Luke Evangelista and Dougie Hamilton also scored. Hughes and Evangelista each had two points, and Jake Allen made 19 saves.

Who scored for the Islanders?
Anthony Duclair, Matthew Schaefer, Simon Holmstrom and Victor Eklund scored for the Islanders. Ilya Sorokin made 45 saves and Bo Horvat recorded two assists.

How many straight games have the Devils won?
The Devils have won four straight games and eight of their past nine. The Islanders, by contrast, have lost three straight (0-2-1).

What happened the last time the Devils won a close game?
Four days earlier, Hughes scored twice in 45 seconds as New Jersey beat Edmonton 4-3 in a shootout. That Oilers game also featured Connor McDavid, who had broken Wayne Gretzky's record as the fastest to 30 assists in NHL history.