The New Jersey Devils came into Tuesday night’s affair with the Dallas Stars with a few days off under their belt. It’s been a rough stretch with a loss to the Washington Capitals. The season is essentially over, and the Devils are playing out the string. However, they aren’t playing like it. They put their best effort forward against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
The Devils came to play early, scoring four goals in the first period. It was the first time the Devils scored four goals in the first period since Decemer 2023. Jack Hughes got things going with a nice move on Jake Oettinger to get things going just four minutes into the game. After a quick response by Wyatt Johnston, Jesper Bratt gave the Devils the lead back for good.
Connor Brown scored a nice goal just three and a half minutes after Bratt’s tally, and Hughes got his second of the night at the end of the first period. It was a dominant period for the Devils against one of the best teams in the NHL. The Stars are second in standings points in the entire league and their 97 points are more than every team in the Eastern Conference.
New Jersey Devils ride a four-goal first period in win versus Dallas Stars
Oettinger's night was over. The Devils chased one of the best goalies in the world immediately. Casey DeSmith came in and played well, but the Devils did just enough to keep themselves ahead of their opponents.
Yet, the Devils punched them in the mouth. The Stars did attempt a comeback, cutting the lead to 4-3 and then 5-4 in the third period, but an empty-net goal by Dougie Hamilton sealed it with just under a minute left.
This was the type of performance we wanted to see from the Devils all season. We’ve seen it here or there since the Olympic break ended. Just this month, the Devils dominated the Florida Panthers, put six goals on their rivals, the New York Rangers, twice, battled the Bruins to an overtime victory, and now this versus the Stars.
The Devils have scored six goals four times this season. Every one of those times is in March. Where was this team all season? We suppose it doesn’t matter now. It’s fun to watch this team play, and it’s at least giving us something to watch for the rest of the year.