Despite being on the verge of missing out on the playoffs, the New Jersey Devils defeated the surging Dallas Stars 6-4 on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center.
The Devils did all their damage in the first period, scoring four goals in the first 17 minutes and 19 seconds of the game.
The Stars, who clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs over the weekend, made a serious effort to tie the game throughout, making the score 4–3 in the second period and 5–4 in the third. However, New Jersey was able to hold off the bombing, maintain its lead late, and walk away from Dallas with two points.
Jack Hughes continued his strong form, opening the scoring and adding another score before the end of the first period to extend his point streak to six. He scored five goals and 12 points in that span.
Jasper Bratt and Connor Brown also scored first for the Devils, scoring their 18th and 19th goals of the season respectively. Timo Meier reached the 20-goal mark in the third period, a much-needed insurance goal that later turned out to be decisive.
Dougie Hamilton, who was skating his 900th career NHL game, made a full-ice empty netter to make the score 6–4 in the final minute of the game.
The Stars' dynamic duo of Wyatt Johnson and Jason Robertson kept Dallas in the game during the first two periods. Johnson scored twice in the first two frames for a total of 40 goals on the year, while Robertson tallied 39 in the second period.
Maverick Bourque scored in the third period to cut the Devils' lead to one, but the Stars were unable to complete the comeback.
Jake Oettinger got the start for Dallas but was subbed off after 20 minutes. Casey DeSmith pitched in relief and made 15 saves on 16 shots in the second and third periods. Oettinger was credited with the loss, moving to 29–11–6 on the season.
Jake Allen got the nod from Sheldon Keefe on the opposite end, his second consecutive start, following New Jersey's close 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday. With the win, Allen moved to 13–16–1 on the season.
first period
The game started with the Stars being on the front foot, dictating the pace of the game and having four shots on goal before the Devils fired one.
However, that didn't stop the Devils from drawing first blood, as Hughes scored his first of the night on a nifty power move with New Jersey's first shot of the game.
The early lead was eventually extinguished just four minutes later by Johnson, who scored his first of the night with a wide-open shot from between the hashmarks during a brief 4-on-4 period.
However, before the 4-on-4 timeout ended, the Devils regained the lead via another solo try, this time by Bratt at 10:49.
New Jersey continued to advance in the first round, getting more goals from its efficient second line of Bratt–Hughes–Brown. Brown found the net at 7:08 and Hughes missed a chance to score with 2:41 minutes remaining.
All four of New Jersey's goals came from the same line, and all four came in transition moments.
The Devils led 4–1 after 20 minutes and defeated the Stars 8–6.
second period
DeSmith led the Stars out of the locker room for the second period and took over between the pipes for Glenn Gulutzan.
DeSmith excelled in the second period, stopping all nine shots he faced, helping the Stars get back into the game.
Dallas' 29.1% effective power play started working early in the frame when Lenny Haminaho was whistled for traveling on Bourque in the opening minute of the second.
It was clear why the Stars have the second-best power play in the league, as Johnson scored his second goal of the game just 11 seconds in on the man-advantage.
To make matters worse for the Devils, as the second period ended, the Stars began to take over the game.
After a long period of possession in the offensive zone, Robertson scored from an acute angle with 7:29 minutes remaining, increasing the Devils' lead to 4–3.
As DeSmith continued to thwart every puck that came his way, Allen had to be just as strong in the final minutes of the second, despite not facing as much rubber.
The Devils narrowly escaped with a one-goal lead in the second period, a margin that has proven vital to their success throughout the season.
Despite scoring twice and creating some serious chances during the period, the Stars were outscored by the Devils 9–7 in the second and 17–13 in 40 minutes.
third period
Sensing a change in momentum, the Stars came out in full flight to start the third period.
They outscored the Devils 6-0 in the first three minutes of the period and would have found the equalizer if not for some clutch saves from Allen.
Just when it looked like the Stars were going to tie things up, the Devils got a needed insurance goal from Meyer at 13:14, a glove-side snipe from an almost impossible angle. Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer were credited with assists.
The siege continued from the Stars, who pounded Allen with a total of 14 shots in the final frame.
Ultimately, Bourque broke through with a tip-in to tie the game at 5–4 with 6:52 left in regulation. The goal came with another increase in pressure from Dallas' special teams and came as Hamilton's penalty expired.
The Stars put more pressure on the Devils, who were barely able to weather the storm.
New Jersey did not actually record a shot for 7:16 straight at the end of the third period. That is, until 1:00 when Hamilton clinched the win with an empty netter from New Jersey's end of the ice.
The 2025-26 New Jersey Devils may be embarrassingly worse than the sum of their parts and certainly won't make the playoffs in April, but they're still perfect when leading after two periods. With the win, they improved their record in that scenario to 22–0–0.
Not only this, but this is New Jersey's fourth win in the last five games. A rare and welcome form going into the final stages of the season.
Next, they'll head to Nashville on Thursday for another road game against the potentially postseason-bound Predators.
