For the first time ever, the New Jersey Devils headed into Utah to take on the Hockey Club. In a very tight affair, the Devils squeaked out a 3-1 win. Nico Daws stopped 24 of 25 (.960%) in the contest. The Devils improve to 33-22-6; Utah falls to 27-25-9.
The first period was pretty even, until about halfway through when Nico Hischier banged home a rebound to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. Then Brenden Dillon and Liam O’Brien dropped the gloves in a pretty even fight, but that was the only action for the rest of the frame.
The Devils had their foot on the gas in the second, but Karel Vejmelka stood tall. Then Utah helped out their goalie as Mikhail Sergachev wired one past Daws to knot it up. Later in the period, Luke Hughes got tied up with Kevin Stenlund but returned to the ice for the third as Devils fans breathed a sigh of relief.
The two teams entered the third still deadlocked at one, but Timo Meier wristed one past Vejmelka just 14 seconds in to make it 2-1.
TIMO wastes no TIME. pic.twitter.com/Q69WIqIOYv
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 2, 2025
Then the Devils finally got a much-needed insurance goal, as Curtis Lazar scored his first goal since November to double their lead. It was the first time any Devils center not named Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier scored since Nov. 30, as Gabe Trevino pointed out. That’s where the score stood as the Devils locked it down the rest of the way, securing their 33rd victory.
Utah will get a pretty long break before returning to action on Thursday, Mar. 6 in Detroit. The Devils will face the Vegas Golden Knights tomorrow night (Sunday).
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