Cotter scores 2nd goal with 7 seconds left in OT, Devils defeat Bruins

Jack Hughes passed to Cotter in the neutral zone and the 26-year-old forward scored his first NHL overtime goal.

“We were talking as coaches … we were just going to start walking off the bench because that’s the level of confidence we have in Paul,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “My first thought was, ‘Well we don’t have to wait for the shootout’ so let him just do his thing. He’s at the top of the list of anyone who you want to have in that type of situation.”

Jack Hughes had three assists to become the fastest player in Devils history to 400 career points. Hughes has 402 points (158 goals, 244 assists) in 414 games; Kirk Muller had been the fastest to 400 (429 games).

Connor Brown had a goal and an assist for New Jersey (34-31-2), which went 5-2-0 on a team record seven-game homestand. Jacob Markstrom made 20 saves. 

“I think there’s a lot of encouraging signs about our group right now,” Brown said. “The way we’re playing, the depth scoring, the fourth line chipping in. I think we weren’t really messing around in the second period … they had five guys at their blue line so we just kind of put it in, went to get it, and I think that kind of tilted the rink for us a little bit.”

David Pastrnak scored two goals to extend his point streak to six games for the Bruins (37-23-7), who are 1-3-5 in their past nine games away from TD Garden. Joonas Korpisalo made 30 saves in his first start in four games.

“We started to play their hockey,” said Pastrnak, who has nine points (four goals, five assists) during his streak. “You make mistakes against a talented team like that, you’re going to defend the whole period. We talked about it before the second period and that’s what hurts even more. We should be mature enough to know that it’s coming and we didn’t.”

The Bruins hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Detroit Red Wings and two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Pastrnak slipped in a rebound from the slot to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 4:02 of the first period.