NJ Devils Rout Utah 3-0 At The Rock

Published: Tuesday, October 15, 2024

by Michael Bellifemini

NEWARK, N.J - The New Jersey Devils (4-1-0) handed the Utah Hockey Club (3-1-0) their first loss in franchise history with a 3-0 shutout on Monday afternoon at the Prudential Center. Jake Allen picked up his first shutout as a Devil, stopping all 20 shots that came his way.

After a scoreless first period, Seamus Casey continued his red-hot start to his NHL career by scoring his third goal of the season in his fifth career game. He ripped a shot past Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka, who was making his first start of the season, as Dougie Hamilton left the penalty box to close out a four-on-four, making Casey’s goal a power play tally.  

Captain Nico Hischier got the lone assist on the goal after a loose puck got over to him and he slid it over to Casey. Later on in the middle frame, Casey picked up his first career assist by lobbing a pass down the middle to Stefan Noesen who went to his backhand to tuck the puck past Vejmelka, doubling the Devils lead. Noesen is another Devil off to a hot start this season, as he now has six points (two goals and four assists) so far in his return to New Jersey.

The Devils’ power play picked up another goal later in the game, as Nico Hischier scored his second goal of the season to make it 3-0. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt both got assists on the goal. This seemed to put the game out of reach for Utah, as the Devils were able to hold on to the shutout for Allen. 

New Jersey’s special teams were impressive today to go along with the Devils power play that potted two goals; the penalty kill was a perfect four for four on the day. Jake Allen’s 25th career shutout gave him his 197th career win in the NHL, and on the other end of the ice, Karel Vejmelka stopped 30 of 33 shots in this contest.

The Devils have now won back-to-back games for the second time this season, and will look to make it three in a row tomorrow night in Raleigh. The Devils will take on the Carolina Hurricanes for their second back-to-back of the season, after they played games for consecutive days against the Buffalo Sabres in Czechia earlier this month. 

Michael Bellifemini is an Assistant Sports Director and can be reached at michael.bellifemini@student.shu.edu.

 

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