National Hockey League
New Jersey 3, Dallas 1
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 9, 2022
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Referees: Kyle Rehman, Corey Syvret
Linesmen: Mark Shewchyk, James Tobias
Attendance: 18127

Nico Hischier and Pavel Zacha scored 10 seconds apart in the final 1:11 on Saturday afternoon as the New Jersey Devils stunned the Dallas Stars and delivered a blow to the host's playoff hopes with a 3-1 win.

Hischier gave the Devils the lead with an impressive individual effort, when he took the puck from Kevin Bahl at the left faceoff circle, skated around the net, screeched to a halt to shake Tyler Seguin and then spun into the crease, where his shot bounced off goalie Jake Oettinger and into the net.

With Oettinger looking to get off the ice as soon as possible to get a man advantage following the late New Jersey score, the Stars couldn't control the puck on the subsequent faceoff. Zacha then scored on a 2-on-1 to cap a three-goal third period for the Devils (25-41-6, 56 points).

Ty Smith scored 4:26 into the final period for the Devils, who snapped a nine-game road losing streak dating back to Feb. 25. Devils goalie Nico Daws made 27 saves.

Ryan Suter scored in the second period for the Stars (40-27-4, 84 points), who entered Saturday with sole possession of the second wild card in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights. However, Vegas pulled even with Dallas with a 6-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes later Saturday. Dallas has two games in hand over the Golden Knights.

Oettinger recorded 20 saves.

The Stars outshot the Devils 21-11 before finally collecting the game's first goal late in the second, when Dallas scored on a power play generated when Jesper Boqvist was whistled for hooking at the 12:38 mark.

Jamie Benn won a faceoff against Hischier deep in the Devils zone and Vladislav Namestnikov backhanded the puck to Suter, who was stationed just beneath the blue line. With Yegor Sharangovich approaching, Suter shuffled the puck and fired a shot that sailed past the glove of Daws, who was screened as teammate Kevin Bahl tussled for position with Benn, with 6:29 left.

The Devils tied the game when a patient sequence capped an end-to-end rush 4:26 into the third. Fabian Zetterlund passed in the neutral zone to Hischier, who controlled the puck for a few seconds before dropping a backhander to Smith. The defenseman also waited a couple beats for his shooting lane to open before he sent a shot past Oettinger.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Dallas
Nico Hischier 2 Points Ryan Suter 1
Nico Hischier 1 Goals Ryan Suter 1
Fabian Zetterlund 2 Assists Jamie Benn 1
N/A Power Play Goals Ryan Suter 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Nico Daws .964 Save Percentage Jake Oettinger .870
Nico Daws 27 Saves Jake Oettinger 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 23 3 0-3 5-6 12 26
Dallas 28 1 1-6 3-3 6 32
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Stars have a W/L % of .575 after a win and .548 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game on the road against Arizona. The Devils have a W/L % of .292 after a win and .375 after a loss.