The Devils are in the sixth wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 32-30-4.
The New Jersey Devils picked up two crucial points on Thursday night when they earned a 6-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. The club overcame a sloppy start to score five straight goals, securing their second victory of the month.
It was a typical start for the Devils as they surrendered the game's opening goal 15 seconds after the puck dropped.
Goaltender Jake Allen, who made his Devils debut, allowed a goal on the first shot he faced. Wyatt Johnston scored his 25th goal of the 2023-24 campaign. Jamie Benn picked up an assist, extending his point streak against New Jersey to three games.
About six minutes later, Erik Haula's wrist shot beat opposing goaltender Jake Oettinger to tie the game. The veteran's 14th goal of the season was unassisted.
Craig Smith scored the Stars' second goal of the night with eight minutes remaining in the period. Jani Hakanpää and Ty Dellandrea were credited with the assists. The Stars scored two goals on three shots.
With two minutes remaining in the opening frame, the Devils' fourth line of Kurtis MacDermid, Chris Tierney, and Curtis Lazar went to work. Tierney's wrist shot beat Oettinger for his second goal of the season. MacDermid and defenseman Nick DeSimone, who also made his Devils debut, earned their first points as members of the Devils.
After 20 minutes, the game was tied at 2-2. Dallas had a 7-6 shot advantage.
When the puck dropped for the second period, the Devils picked up where they left off and scored two goals within the first four minutes of play. Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier each scored to extend their team's lead to 4-2.
Oettinger surrendered four goals on 10 shots and was replaced by Scott Wedgewood in the second period.
Less than two minutes after Meier scored his 19th of the season, Curtis Lazar skated the puck into the offensive zone. He passed to Tomas Nosek, who beat Wedgewood for his first goal as a Devil. The 31-year-old stopped near the boards and looked up to the sky with a huge smile as his teammates swarmed him.
Lazar's assist on Nosek's goal was his 20th of the season. He matched his career-high, which he earned in the 2015-16 season with the Ottawa Senators.
New Jersey extended their lead over Dallas to 5-2.
After a shaky start, Jake Allen's performance reached another level in the second period, stopping all 16 shots faced. Thanks to his play, the Devils skated into the second intermission with a three-goal lead despite being outshot 23-14.
Allen remained perfect in goal in the third period, while Alexander Holtz extended New Jersey's lead to 6-2. Once Allen settled in, he stole the show. The veteran netminder made 37 saves on 39 shots to finish the game with a .949 save percentage, securing that 6-2 score and his team's victory.
DeSimone finished the game with a team-leading 24:57 of ice time. He was credited with four hits and three blocked shots. The 29-year-old defenseman made an impact in all three zones and shined in his debut.
UP NEXT: The Devils will play the Arizona Coyotes on March 16 at Mullett Arena.
LINES:
Jack Hughes - Nico Hischier - Dawson Mercer
Timo Meier - Erik Haula - Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat - Tomas Nosek - Alexander Holtz
Kurtis MacDermid - Chris Tierney - Curtis Lazar
Santeri Hatakka - Brendan Smith
Kevin Bahl - Nick DeSimone
Luke Hughes - Simon Nemec
Jake Allen
Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.