Devils Shut Out in Winnipeg | GAME STORY

WINNIPEG, MB - The New Jersey Devils spotted the Winnipeg Jets a 2-0 lead before their game was two minutes old, putting themselves in a tough spot against a team that now sits atop the league standings with 104 points.

"Definitely not how you want to start against a team like that, they’re one of the best teams in the league. Made mistakes and didn’t clean up in front of our net and it’s 2-nothing already," Nico Hischier said.

“One of the best teams, if not the best team in the league, kind of handed them two there, and that’s the difference,” Brett Pesce added.

In Winnipeg on Friday night, the Devils were shut out by the league leaders, 4-0.

Alex Iafallo scored 58 seconds into the game, David Gustafsson added a second goal at 1:52 before Winnipeg doubled their lead in the second.

A big turning point came in the second period when the Devils had a power play opportunity, firing four shots on Connor Hellebyuck and hitting one post. The Devils failed to convert on the power play. As their power play expired, the Jets were awarded a man advantage of their own, where Iafallo capitalized to put the Jets up 3-0.

"We had some really good looks right in the slot, Timo smashes it off the post, instead of 2-1, we come out of that and take a bad penalty and put the No. 1 power play in the league on the ice," head coach Sheldon Keefe said, adding he felt this was a major turning point in the game. "And then it's 3-0. That's the real big swing in the game."

Mark Scheifele added a last-minute goal in the second to build Winnipeg's 4-0 lead.

Here are some observations from the game:

• The Devils were forced into a new-look power play with the absence of Hughes. The first unit comprised five forwards, with Jesper Bratt handling the point duties. He made up a unit with Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, and Stefan Noesen.

• It's a real game of momentum shifts and we saw a big one in the second period when the Devils and Jets took back-to-back penalties. The Devils had the first power play opportunity, where the first new-look unit, had plenty of movement and held the offensive zone for a full 1:47. They managed four shots on Hellebyuck and Timo Meier's shot hit a post, but to no avail. The Jets were awarded a power play just as the Devils' was expiring, and Iafallo responded for the Jets with his second goal of the game.

The Devils power play went 0-for-3 tonight, while the Jets power play went 1-for-1.

• Erik Haula had a goal waived off in the first period, and the referees immediately called back the play for goaltender interference. Head coach Sheldon Keefe took a long look at the play on the iPad behind the bench and was determined not to challenge it.

There would have needed to be irrefutable evidence that there was, in fact, no interference for the goal to count, as the call on the ice was no goal.

• Dawson Mercer left the second period with 2:14 remaining after he was hit in the face by his stick on a ricochet after Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo hit him at the blueline. Mercer could be seen immediately bleeding from the mouth area as he skated off the ice to the locker room.

Mercer missed the first six minutes of the third period but did eventually return to play.

• Luke Hughes missed the game, held out for precautionary reasons, dealing with a lower-body ailment. Hughes missed the morning skate session but did take warmups in Winnipeg. Dennis Cholowski entered the lineup in his place.

Hughes is considered day-to-day, per Sheldon Keefe.

"It's a situation where he wanted to play today but he's not at 100 percent and there was a good chance that playing again today would have made it worse with another game tomorrow and obviously games still to come," Keefe advised post game. "It was the right thing for him and our team to give him the night off and we'll re-evaluate him tomorrow to see where he is at but just call it day-to-day at this point."

• The game marked the return of Brenden Dillon to Winnipeg. He played the past three seasons with the Jets before joining the Devils in the off-season.