It's official, hockey is back. And so are the New Jersey Devils. The Devils' rookies suited up for the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo on Friday. And they certainly didn't waste any time, defeating the Ottawa Senators 9-1.
Off to the races, the Devils immediately jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first seven minutes.
“First period, everyone is going a million miles an hour, trying to put your best foot forward,” Cam Squires said postgame. “Once your legs get going, you’ve just got to think with your head and stuff and make good plays. Obviously, it was nice to get a couple of goals there in the first period, get your legs under you.
Squires opened the scoring, followed by defenseman Mikael Diotte. Squires' second goal of the game was a perfectly executed shot, with the assistance of teammate Xavier Parent for the cross-ice pass.
The Devils went up 4-0 during the first two minutes of the second. This time, it was off of a redirect by Cole Brown. He put Will MacKinnon's shot past Ottawa goaltender Michael Simpson. The Devils' rookies went on to double their first-period lead to 6-0 with goals from Brown, Parent and Chase Stillman.
This is Stillman's first Prospects Challenge despite entering professional play last season. He missed out last year due to injury.
“The way I look at it, it’s my third camp. You get more confidence and I don’t like to think I’m a nervous kid but I definitely have a little nerves coming into camp every year, but this year is a little different for me," Stillman said. "I’ve got a letter on my jersey, management looks at me as a leader and a person to be held responsible for. I think a lot of that boosts my confidence as well. It was definitely nice for my game to show it tonight.”
Stephen Halliday scored Ottawa's lone goal with 9:32 remaining in the second period, after the Devils had built a 6-0 lead.
Parent answered back, adding an early third period goal to make the scoreboard 7-1. Max Graham logged their eighth goal with less than five minutes left to play.
Parent and Squires both led the books tonight with three-point outtings, each posting two goals and an assist.
The last significant offensive play of the evening came from Jack Malone — who scored with 2:54 left, closing out the night 9-1.
Game 1 ✅ pic.twitter.com/kHUTHRpznr
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) September 14, 2024
The Devils rookies are back in action in Buffalo on Saturday at 7 p.m, taking on the hometown Buffalo Sabres. The game will be available for streaming on NewJerseyDevils.com.