By ALLAN KREDA The Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. — The Kings didn’t threaten much on offense Thursday night, and that left the door ajar for their opponent.
Jack Hughes scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and added two assists, as the New Jersey Devils ended the Kings’ six-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory at the Prudential Center.
Hughes snapped his 12th goal of the season past Kings goaltender David Rittich with 7:02 left in the third period to give the Devils their first lead. Ondrej Palat and Brett Pesce (short-handed) also scored for New Jersey, which won for the 14th win in its past 21 games (14-6-1).
Defenseman Jordan Spence scored a goal and David Rittich turned aside 23 shots for the Kings, who fell short in their bid to record their first seven-game winning streak since Oct. 30-Nov. 11, 2021.
In a scoreless game late in the second period, Spence forced a turnover off a two-on-one rush in the defensive end, skated up the ice and wired a one-timer from the point off of New Jersey native Alex Laferriere’s cross-ice feed to beat Markstrom at 16:41.
The Kings’ lead was short-lived, however.
Hughes bolted out of the corner, skated across the slot and used a makeshift pick in front of the net before wristing a shot that Palat deflected home at 18:56 of the middle period.
Palat’s nifty backhanded centering feed from deep in the right circle found Hughes for an easy conversion to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead in the third. The goal was Hughes’ fourth in his past seven games.
Pesce’s goal was his first as a Devil and came with 2:43 left to cement the win as Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom improved to 14-6-2 this season.
The Kings hadn’t allowed more than two goals during their winning streak.
The Kings received a penalty shot when Alex Turcotte was hooked by Brenden Dillon during a partial breakaway at 11:01 of the second period. Turcotte, however, missed the net high and wide as he attempted to beat Markstrom over his blocker.
Markstrom stopped 12 shots for New Jersey.
New Jersey’s Paul Cotter fell over the Kings’ Kevin Fiala and hit the ice during the second period. Cotter struggled to get to the bench and remained hunched over for several moments before returning to the game shortly thereafter.
New Jersey improved to 8-6-3 at home. The Devils are 11-4-0 on the road.
The Kings visit the Rangers on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.
