Roope Hintz scored the go-ahead goal with three seconds left in the second period, and backup Scott Wedgewood made 35 saves against his former team as the Dallas Stars defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Tuesday night, handing the Devils their third straight loss.
With both teams playing their second game in two nights, Hintz broke a 1-1 tie with his 13th goal, emerging from a scrum in front of Devils netminder Akira Schmid.
Ty Dellandrea, Esa Lindell, and Mason Marchment also scored for Dallas, which has now gone 10-3-3 in its last 16 matchups against the Devils. Lindell and Marchment both added empty-net goals.
“We did what we had to do in the third, a couple of big blocks,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “It was a critical turning point to go into the third period with a lead. It was an important two points for us. We did the important work to get the two points against a good team.”
Miles Wood scored the lone goal for New Jersey.
“It was a tough game for both teams, not too many opportunities,” Devils forward Tomas Tatar said. “That goal with three seconds left didn’t help us, and we couldn’t score another one. Teams come here now and know what to expect. Hopefully, this makes us stronger.”
Both teams were coming off losses from the previous night, with the Stars falling 2-1 in Pittsburgh and the Devils losing 4-3 in overtime to the New York Rangers.
Hintz, a 26-year-old Finnish forward, has accumulated 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his last seven games. Assists on his goal were credited to Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson, who extended his point streak to 19 games.
Robertson leads Dallas with 43 points, including 23 goals. He has amassed 35 points, including 21 goals, during his point streak. Only Brian Bellows (20 games with the Minnesota North Stars in early 1986) has a longer point streak in franchise history.
The 30-year-old Wedgewood, who spent parts of three seasons with New Jersey, made several outstanding saves. He stopped Devils leading scorer Jack Hughes 13 minutes into the second period and denied Fabian Zetterlund on a breakaway at 15:40.
Wedgewood, drafted by the Devils in 2010, also made a sharp save on Yegor Sharangovich in front at 10:14 of the third. He stopped 19 of 20 shots in the second and 10 more in the third to secure the win.
“I spent a lot of time here, a place that is near and dear to my heart,” Wedgewood said about returning to New Jersey. “It went my way tonight. It was huge for us to weather the storm, go into the third period with a lead and hold it.”
Dellandrea broke the scoreless tie at 6:03 of the second by tipping Ryan Suter’s shot past Schmid. It was Dellandrea’s fifth goal of the season, a first-round draft pick by the Stars in 2018.
Wood tied it at 7:55 of the second with his seventh goal, redirecting a shot from defenseman Kevin Bahl. Sharangovich also assisted.
Schmid made several excellent saves in the second, denying Robertson early in the period and making successive stops on Luke Glendening and Joe Pavelski midway through. Schmid finished with 26 saves.
The Devils also lost a 6-4 game at home to the Islanders last Friday. They had previously lost two straight only in the opening two games of the season.
“Our desperation was not high enough,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “A couple of our top players had a tough night.”
The Stars were playing the second game of a five-game road trip. They will visit Washington, Carolina, and Columbus before returning home to face Edmonton on Dec. 21.
The Devils have home games ahead against Philadelphia and Florida following their first three-game slide of the season.
“We’re facing a few bumps in the road, a little adversity,” Ruff added. “These are the challenges you have. There are no easy games.”
Game Notes
The Devils scratched defenseman Brendan Smith and forwards Nathan Bastian and Alexander Holtz. The Stars scratched defenseman Joel Hanley and forward Riley Tufte. The teams will meet again on Jan. 27 in Dallas.
UP NEXT
- Stars: Visit the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
- Devils: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
