Ed Mulholland-Imagn ImagesJames NicholsThu, December 4, 2025 at 2:33 AM UTC·4 min readThe New Jersey Devils miss Jack Hughes.
On Wednesday at the Prudential Center, the Devils hosted the NHLs second-best, Dallas Stars, and dropped their third game in a row on home ice for the first time this season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMake no mistake about it. Jake Oettinger was great. He made a couple of game-breaking saves that kept New Jersey off the board. However, without Jack, the creativity has been few and far between, and it’s plummeting the Devils’ record.
The Devils had no punch to their game. Dallas limited them to perimeter chances, clogged every lane, both shooting and passing, and out-muscled the Devils in almost every way.
Certainly, that’s a red flag after the Stars lost in overtime in Manhattan just one night ago, yet, found another gear the Devils couldn’t.
Let’s dive into the Devils’ 3-0 shutout loss at home.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPeriod One
It was important for the Devils to come out in the first period strong, and they did.
Dallas did well at clogging all lanes, both shooting and passing. However, New Jersey worked the puck in the Stars’ end of the ice out of the opening puck drop.
The Nico Hischier line created a bit of buzz through the opening frame. However, it was the Devils’ depth that provided the best chances in the first 20 minutes.
Jake Oettinger stood strong for the Stars, when the Cody Glass line applied a bit of pressure. Arseny Gritsyuk forced a turnover below the Dallas blueline, and created a scoring chance down low. The Stars netminder stopped the Devils rookie, however, and the several chances between Gritsyuk, Glass, and Ondrej Palat.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOettinger was especially strong on a sequence that saw Juho Lammikko in alone with the puck on his stick, stopping the Devils forward, and the rebound chance created by Luke Glendening.
The buzzer blared after the first 20 minutes, with no goals and no penalties. The Devils took an 8-6 shot advantage into the first intermission.
Period Two
The game picked up in the second period where it left off in the first.
The Devils controlled the pace of play, while the Stars chased New Jersey in their own zone. However, Oettinger ate up the early chances the Devils accrued once again, keeping New Jersey off the board.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSeven minutes into the middle frame, the game finally saw its first penalty when Mikko Rantanen was called for tripping Timo Meier.
The Stars’ power kill let no shots through to Oettinger, however, and successfully killed 18 of their last 18 kills.
Dallas then began to tilt the ice back in their direction, and thus, opened the scoring at the 11:34 mark. Miro Heiskanen received the puck at the top of the right circle, and with little pressure in front of him, fired a shot past Jacob Markstrom to give Dallas a 1-0 lead.
At this point, the Stars took complete control of the game. The Devils chased pucks in their own end of the ice, while Dallas cycled the puck and exhausted New Jersey’s defenders.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn full control of the puck in the Devils’ zone, Jason Robertson sent Esa Lindell the puck at the blueline, and Lindell sent it back for a perfect give-and-go, and the streaking Stars forward doubled Dallas’ lead to 2-0, sending New Jersey into the second intermission in a multi-goal deficit.
Period Three
As opposed to the start in the first two periods, it was the Stars who had the Devils on their heels when the puck dropped.
In fact, Markstrom had to make several big saves in the first three minutes to keep Dallas from extending their lead further.
The Devils got an opportunity to take back some momentum when Gritsyuk drew a penalty on Jamie Benn for tripping.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, the Devils failed to convert, and even strength play ensued.
Dallas then played with the puck on their stick in New Jersey’s end of the ice to take control of the game back. Lindell from the blueline put a puck on net, and Mikko Rantanen deposited the rebound with no pressure applied to triple the Stars lead, 3-0.
The Stars clamped down on the Devils for the remainder of the third period, forcing the Devils’ third straight loss on home ice in shutout fashion.
Markstrom made 24 saves on 27 shots, and suffered his fifth loss of the season.
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