Devils Steal Win Against Dallas In Jake Allen's Debut

New Jersey Devils, Ice Hockey, Professional

March 15, 2024

The New Jersey Devils took to the ice Thursday night in Dallas's home arena, The American Airlines Center. Coming off a handful of losses, the Devils now hope to string together some wins in order to make a last leap at the playoffs. A glimpse of hope would be shown as the team would overcome Dallas with a 6-2 win.

Coming onto the ice to start the first period, the Devils would almost immediately be shut down as their first defensive line broke down. Wyatt Johnson put Dallas on the scoreboard only 15 seconds into the game, assisted by Jamie Benn and Thomas Harley. This would seem to light a fire under New Jersey as they found a rhythm of play. Only five minutes later, Erik Haula found the back of the net unassisted to tie the game.

The Devils continued to play with scorching momentum, only to be put to a halt as Craig Smith netted the second of the night for Dallas from Jani Hakanpaa and Ty Dellandrea. New Jersey would fire back minutes later as Chris Tierney again tied the game for the Devils from Kurtis MacDermid and Nick DeSimone.

The Devils left the ice at the end of the first period with some momentum and hope to snag the lead in the upcoming period.

They entered the ice for the second period with some drive to hopefully gain the upper hand in the game. New Jersey almost seemed like a new team compared to how they played Monday against the Rangers. The Devils took advantage of Dallas’s mistakes, and Dawson Mercer gave them the lead, making it 3-2 from Nico Hischier and Luke Hughes. New Jersey's drive would increase significantly, and only a minute later, Timo Meier would find his way past Jake Oettinger to make it 4-2 from Jesper Bratt and Simon Nemec.

Dallas would then take Jake Oettinger out of the game and put in backup goalie Scott Wedgewood. This would not fault the Devils in any way, though, as two minutes later, Tomas Nosek would score his first goal as a Devil while also acquiring his first point as a Devil, which would be assisted by Curtis Lazar.

The Devils would end the third period with four unanswered goals to give them the lead 5-2.

Stakes were high at the beginning of the third period since the Stars led the NHL in comebacks this season. The Devils needed to stay out of the box and take whatever shots they could get to contain the lead. The start of the third period would seem promising for the Devils as they would quickly kill off a penalty and spend most of their time inside Dallas’s zone.

The period would seem uneventful for the Stars as Jake Allen, who debuted for the Devils today, would make many enormous saves for the team. With only six minutes left in the period, Alexander Holtz would extend the Devils lead to 6-2 from Meier and Chris Tierney.

New Jersey played an organized game tonight and showed how their offense can step up if they take shots more frequently and are able to pass the puck more efficiently. The Devils are now only four points out of a playoff spot with 16 games remaining in the season. If the team can get a winning streak going, playoffs may not be as far as the fans and media think.