Timo Meier, acquired by the New Jersey Devils last week, had a goal in his debut as New Jersey won 5-4 in overtime over Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.
Meier, acquired from the San Jose Sharks in a blockbuster trade that involved nine players and four draft picks last Sunday, backhanded a rebound past Connor Ingram at 9:09 of the first period. It was his 32nd goal of the season.
“I haven’t played in a bit, so I tried to go out there and keep it simple,” said Meier, who was coming off an upper-body injury and last took the ice for the Sharks on Feb. 18.
Devils coach Lindy Ruff put Meier on a line with fellow high scorers Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt.
“It’s not easy to come back. One full practice. It’ll take a while. We know what he can do, he’s gifted around the net,” Ruff said. “It was a first good outing.”
Nico Hischier scored the winning goal 23 seconds into overtime.
Jesper Boqvist scored twice and Damon Severson had a goal and an assist. Dougie Hamilton and Erik Haula each had two assists, and Vitek Vanecek stopped 22 shots as New Jersey extended its point streak to five games (4-0-1) and stayed two points behind the first-place Carolina Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
