Devils Hold Off Stars For 6-4 Win
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Despite being on the brink of playoff elimination, the New Jersey Devils defeated the soaring Dallas Stars 6-4 on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center. The Devils did just about all their damage in the first period, scoring four goals in the game’s first 17 minutes and 19 seconds. The Stars, who clinched a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth over the weekend, made a serious push to tie the game throughout, bringing the score to 4-3 in the second period and 5-4 in the third.
However, New Jersey was able to hold off the bombardment, pad their lead late, and sneak out of Dallas with two points. Jack Hughes continued his red-hot form, opening the scoring and adding another before the first period ended to extend his point streak to six. He’s scored five goals and amassed 12 points in that span.
Jesper Bratt and Connor Brown also found the net in the first for the Devils, scoring their 18th and 19th goals of the season, respectively. Timo Meier hit the 20-goal mark in the third period, a much-needed insurance goal that later became the decider. Dougie Hamilton , who was skating in his 900th career NHL game, made it 6-4 with a full-ice empty netter in the game’s final minute.
The Stars’ dynamic duo of Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson kept Dallas in the game through the first two periods. Johnston found the twine twice in the first two frames to total 40 goals on the year, while Robertson reached his 39th in the second period. Mavrik Borque scored in the third period to cut the Devils’ lead back to one, but the Stars were unable to complete the comeback.
Jake Oettinger got the start for Dallas but was pulled after 20 minutes. Casey DeSmith came on in relief and made 15 saves on 16 shots through the second and third periods. Oettinger was credited with the loss, moving to 29-11-6 on the season.
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