The New Jersey Devils came into Tuesday off of two tough losses to division rivals. The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers each had narrow wins that made it feel like the Devils were done.
However, with a win against the Dallas Stars and a little bit of luck, the Devils could come into Friday four points out of a playoff spot.
Well, things didn't start well for the Devils as it took the Stars 15 seconds to take a 1-0 lead. That has been an issue for them all season long.
Erik Haula made a great play to get the game tied up at one. He forced a turnover and took it deep himself on the backhand for a top-shelf beauty.
After that, the Stars took a 2-1 lead on a very soft goal for Jake Allen to give up. In his New Jersey Devils debut, he gave up two goals on the first three shots he faced.
Luckily, the Devils scored a soft goal of their own as Chris Tierney got a bit lucky with his marker to tie it back up. They would take this into the intermission.
The New Jersey Devils took over against the Dallas Stars on Thursday
1:31 into the second frame, Dawson Mercer found the puck after Nico Hischier made a great play to get it to him. He made a sweet move to give the Devils a 3-2 lead. They would only build on it from there.
Timo Meier, Tomas Nosek, and Alexander Holtz all scored later on and the Devils will be leaving Dallas with a 6-2 victory.
Seeing Meier stay hot is very important. He looks healthy which means he is one of the best power forwards in the NHL. That was his 19th of the season.
Tomas Nosek scored his first of the season. You know having 0 goals was weighing on him even though he had been playing through some bad injury luck. Now, we'll see if he can continue contributing as a solid bottom-six player.
As for Holtz, this is his first goal in a while. He has 14 on the season so it is clear that he has a chance to be a good goal scorer as his development continues. We can only hope that the Devils put him in a position to succeed down the stretch and into next year.
After giving up those two goals on the first three shots he faced, Allen didn't allow another one for the rest of the game. He ended up playing very well after having a rough start to the game. He was a bit nervous with his new team but settled in nicely. If New Jersey keeps getting goaltending like that, they can beat anybody.
The Devils got everything that they needed from the out-of-town scoreboard so their 68 points only trails the second Wild Card spot (New York Islanders) by four. If they keep winning, they will make the playoffs. If they don't, they won't.
New Jersey's next game will take place at Mullett Arena where they will take on the Arizona Coyotes. This is a big game against a weaker team that the Devils need to win. We can only hope that they build off of this one.