Devils Grind Out 2-1 Win in Utah to Secure Second Straight

 

Photo: Andrew MacLean

The Devils continued their climb toward consistency on Friday night, edging out the Utah Mammoth 2-1 at the Delta Center for their second consecutive victory. In a matchup between two teams that have spent December alternating between wins and losses, it was the Devils who finally found the winning formula on the road. After Daniil But put Utah ahead early with a power-play marker, New Jersey’s veterans took over. Connor Brown leveled the score in the second period with a clinical finish, and Stefan Noesen proved to be the hero in the third, burying a gritty power-play goal to seal the result. Backed by another stellar performance in net from Jacob Markstrom, the Devils successfully neutralized Utah's late-game pressure, turning a back-and-forth month into a promising winning streak.

New Jersey Devils Lineup:

Bratt - Hischier - Mercer

Palat - Glass - Brown

Cotter - Lammikko - Noesen

Parent - Glendening - Crookshank

Siegenthaler - Hamilton

Hughes - Pesce

Dillon - White

Markstrom

Allen

Utah Mammoth Lineup:

Keller - Schmaltz - Peterka

Crouse - Hayton - Guenther

Carcone - McBain - But

O'Brien - Stenlund - Kerfoot

Sergachev - Durzi

Schmidt - Marino

Cole - DeSimone

Vejmelka

Vanecek

On the power play in the opening frame, Daniil But found the back of the net to put Utah ahead 1-0 for his first NHL goal with 10:25 on the clock. He took a pass from Sean Durzi, who got the puck from along the right boards, passing it up to But, who was up between the circles and fired a backhanded shot past Jacob Markstrom.

Connor Brown tied it up 1-1 at 8:19 of the second period off a pass from Nico Hischier, who got a hold of the puck from a Utah player behind the net after Brown brought the puck from the left and around before losing it. After taking Hischier's pass, he beat Karel Vejmelka blocker side from the right circle. This was his ninth goal of the season.

Early into the third period at 15:40, Stefan Noesen gave New Jersey its first lead of the game with a power-play goal when he tapped in a rebound of Hischier's shot. Hischier took a pass from Luke Hughes, who was along the blue line, and skated down before firing for Noesen to find the back of the net for his third goal of the season and the 2-1 final.

Nico Hischier on the Devils' power play, sense of relief, Jacob Markstrom, Connor Brown, and what's the most valuable part about this win: "It felt good, obviously. I think we needed that one, for sure. Especially in that game, too. 5-on-3 early again and couldn't score. So, definitely good. Came up big at the end. ... 100%, and I mean it helped us win the game. So, at the end of the day, we stick with it. It was very frustrating, like I said, especially the 5-on-3, and after we had lots of chances, but couldn't score. So it obviously feels good that we were able to help the team get us on the board on the power play." - "He played unbelievably and kept us in the game. Always, and even at the end, made huge saves. He was a big part of our win tonight. ... He's huge. He's just an all-around great hockey player. Makes unbelievable reads, can score, can make plays, block shots. He does everything. So he's a very, very valuable player for us. ... Just to see if you keep grinding, even sometimes when the other team is playing better hockey than you, then you can still find a way to win games. And that's what we did tonight."

Notes:

- Jacob Markstrom made a total of 32 saves for New Jersey.

- Nico Hischier picked up a pair of assists.

- The Devils are 20-14-1. They've won four of their past six games; 4-2-0.

- Over the final 1:21 with Karel Vejmelka pulled for an extra skater, the Devils killed a 6-on-4 power play after Dawson Mercer's tripping penalty against Barrett Hayton at 18:39.

- Karel Vejmelka made a total of 20 saves for Utah.

- Daniil But scored his first NHL goal. In the 2023 NHL Draft, he was a first-round pick (No. 12) by the Arizona Coyotes.

- The Mammoth are 17-17-3, and have won three of four.

- This was John Marino's 400th NHL career game.

- Alexander Kerfoot made his season debut after he had missed the first 36 games of the season due to a lower-body injury.