On Saturday, Feb. 22, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Dallas Stars at 6 p.m. for their second and last home game of the month. This was their first matchup with the Stars of the 2024-2025 season.
Jake Allen was the starting goalie for the New Jersey Devils, he had made 22 saves Saturday night. The Dallas Stars, started their backup goalie, Casey DeSmith, who successfully led the team to victory while stopping 31 shots.
Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Erika Haula all returned from the 4-Nations tournament. Hughes put up an incredible two-point night, scoring two goals for the Devils. Dougie Hamilton and Jesper Bratt also each had two-point nights as they assisted on both of the Devils goals in the third.
Devils Captain, Nico Hischier returned to the lineup after missing six games due to an oblique injury. Fans excitably welcomed him back.
It was a slow, yet physical first period for the Devils and the Stars. Nearly four minutes into the first, Stars Evgenii Dadonov is able to find the puck and score on Allen, opening the game and giving the Stars a 1-0 lead. Not long after, Thomas Harley gets the Stars another goal, while earning his 10th goal of the season. The first period went scoreless for the New Jersey Devils.
As the second period commenced, New Jersey had to strategize how they could make a comeback to get a point on the board. Struggling to do so, Devils Nico Hischier received a four-minute double minor for high-sticking Oskar Bäck. The Devils successfully fought off this penalty kill. But the Stars continued to hold their 2-0 lead, as the second period went scoreless.
The final period began and the minutes into the third, Jack Hughes scored on the power-play. Putting the Devils on the board, the Stars continued to lead 2-1. Hughes earned his 25th goal of the season. At 10:35 Dallas struck back and Matt Duchene scored, making the game 3-1. The Devils were starting to make their way up. Just a minute and forty seconds later, Jack Hughes puts another goal in (4-2), his 26th of the season, and a two-point night for this forward. Unfortunately on the return, with nine seconds left, Wyatt Johnston scores an empty-netter contributing to the Devils 4-2 loss.
The New Jersey Devils will now take-on a five-game road trip, while meeting with the Dallas Stars again on March 4.
