They Shoot, They Score | GAME STORY

DALLAS, TX - The Devils didn't make it easy on themselves, but in Dallas on Tuesday night, they picked up a big 6-4 win against the Dallas Stars.

It took almost five minutes for the Devils to register their first shot of the game, but Jack Hughes made it count, opening the scoring. And from there, nearly every shot the Devils would take in the next five minutes would result in goals.

Jesper Bratt’s goal, on the Devils second shot of the game, re-established New Jersey’s one-goal lead, at 2-1, after Wyatt Johnston had briefly tied the game. Bratt’s goal was the second shot of the period for the Devils, which was followed by Connor Brown extending the lead to 3-1 on the Devils fourth shot of the night.

Then in came Connor Brown with the Devils' fourth shot; it, too, beat Jake Oettinger in the Stars' net, and New Jersey’s lead stretched to 3-1. Then, a fifth shot, once again off the stick of Hughes, beats Oettinger, his second of the period, further extending New Jersey’s lead. 

"Obviously, it felt good to get that kind of start,” Bratt said. “It’s kind of been the opposite most of the season for us, to create scoring chances, but the puck really hasn’t gone in. Obviously, it felt good in our responce and attention to detail in the goal scoring was there. And it gets the boys fired up too.” 

It proved to be a very valuable lead for the Devils, with the Stars shooting back into the game with two goals, by Johnston and Jason Robertson, in the second, cutting into New Jersey’s lead. 

“We knew coming in here before the second period that they were going to have a push," Bratt added. "They’re second team in the league, they’re not just going to walk away. We knew they were going to have pushes. I think overall we were pretty calm in the situation, we managed it pretty well.”

After weathering a storm for the Stars early in the third, Timo Meier found the smallest of space between DeSmith and the post, restoring a two-goal lead for the Devils, 5-3, with his 20th goal of the season. Dougie Hamilton secured New Jersey's lead with the empty net goal with one minute to play. 

“I thought we did a good job keeping our heads up and making the next play,” Brown said. “We weren’t just packing it in and trying to defend; we went out and scored a few more. It was all in all a good effort from the guys.”

Maverik Bourque also scored for the Stars.

New Jersey opens its three-game road trip with a win against a juggernaut of a Western Conference team.

Here are some observations from the game:

 • Arseny Gritsyuk left the game late in the third period with an apparent injury. Head coach Sheldon Keefe noted that Gritsyuk will undergo imaging on Wednesday before determining the severity of his potential injury.

The Devils scored two goals on the opening two shots of the game, followed by three on their opening four and four on their first five shots. The Devils ended the first period scoring on 50 percent of their shots on Jake Oettinger in the Stars net. Oettinger was pulled after 20 minutes, replaced by Casey DeSmith. 

• A couple of first period stats: The last time the Devils scored four goals in a first period was on Dec. 5, 2023, in Vancouver.

• Notice the common thread on the first two goals from Jack and Bratt, both cut across Jake Oettinger’s crease, forcing the Stars goaltender to bite and opening up space to finish. It’s a subtle but effective move, pulling him out of position, and both are able to capitalize on it.

When it’s Connor Brown’s turn, though, he elects for the shot, despite a lane open to cut across the crease. Instead of following that same path, Brown opts to shoot short-side. On the play, it looks as though Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, is thinking Brown might elect to follow suit of his teammates, extending his stick to take away that cross-crease lane.

But Brown has a different thought. He keeps it simple and releases the shot from his spot, and still manages to beat Oettinger clean.

• Jonas Siegenthaler finished the first period with two assists, for the ninth multi-point game of his career. It’s been a while since he’s registered double-digits, with his last game coming on Oct. 12, 2023, a night where he had three assists against the Red Wings. 

• Tonight's game marked the 900th game of defenseman Dougie Hamilton's career. Hamilton has played the past five years with New Jersey, the longest stretch of his career with a singular club. Tuesday’s game was Hamilton’s 293rd with New Jersey, where he’s amassed 55 goals and 137 assists, including a goal and an assist in tonight’s game against the Stars.

• Both Timo Meier and Jack Hughes hit 20 goals on the season with their goals against the Stars, bringing the Devils roster up to three players with 20 or more goals this season, joining Nico Hischier (24).