Paul Couture is the New Jersey Devils' best player and they have a goaltender across from them.
Hosting the Boston Bruins at the Prudential Center, Cotter scored the overtime winner, which also capped a three assist night for Jack Hughes, a new record holder for the Devils.
Just four minutes into the first period, the Devils' defense was caught sleeping and the Bruins made them pay.
Henri Jokiharju's shot from the point was blocked by Jacob Markstrom. However, the puck bounced off David Pastrnak, who was standing at the net-front the entire time, collected the loose puck, and slid it between Markstrom's five-hole to give the Bruins a 1–0 lead.
The Bruins dominated the puck throughout the first period. About four minutes after the Bruins' goal, Brandon Dillon and Mark Kastelic dropped mitts after New Jersey created tension in front of the net. Each got five minutes of majors to fight.
Boston kept the pressure on New Jersey, and eventually doubled their lead when Pavel Zacha finished off a stray chance headed by Viktor Arvidsson to make the game 2–0.
The Devils got off to a fast start in the second period and scored within the first minute of puck drop. Jack forced a turnover on neutral territory and began moving toward the Boston area. The Devils star fed Connor Brown, who was already behind the Boughton defense, provoking him for a breakaway, and he lowered the blocker side to cut the Devils' deficit to 2–1.
Jack's primary assist set a Devils franchise record, as he is now the fastest player to reach 400 points for New Jersey, reaching the milestone in 414 games.
The Devils remained all-out in the middle frame as they tried to erase their first period deficit. New Jersey's top line continued to give the Bruins defense headaches. With just over eight minutes gone in the period, the Jacks made a quick move up the ice, feeding Brown in the middle of the ice, who then passed the puck to Jesper Bratt for a one-time chance in the right circle to tie the game at 2–2.
Just three minutes into the third period the Devils immediately took a 3-2 lead. Maxim Tsyplyakov drove to the net with the puck on his backhand, and fired it into the slot for Paul Cotter who scored.
Still, Pastrnak responded immediately by pulling off a slick toe-up of his own, and slid the puck to Markstrom, who the Bruins forward knocked out of position to restore the tie at three.
There was a barrage of penalties between the Devils and Bruins, starting with Kastelic's hard hit on Cotter. Bruins forward Johnathan Kovacevic stepped up to drop the gloves, forcing Kastelic to fight for the second time on Monday.
New Jersey then committed three minor penalties, and Boston was whistled for one. Still, neither team took advantage.
The Devils and Bruins needed overtime, and the exciting period almost turned into a shootout.
However, Jack collected a loose puck in the neutral zone and pushed it to Cotter, drawing a streak across the ice. On a breakaway, Cotter scored the overtime winner to solidify the Devils' second win in as many games.
Markstrom stopped 19 pucks on 22 shots to earn his 20th win of the season.
