In recent weeks, Nico Daws has solidified his position as the New Jersey Devils’ top goaltender.
Daws made 33 saves and stopped two shootout attempts, leading the Devils to a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.
Daws has been outstanding, winning three of the four games in the recent homestand and allowing just eight goals. The 21-year-old has started the last seven games and boasts a 6-4 record this season.
“We’ve been able to keep playing him through games, and if there was a game he didn’t like, he knows he’s going to play again,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think that’s a good feeling for a goaltender. We’ve let him take the ball and run with it.”
Daws has been given this opportunity due to injuries to New Jersey’s top goaltenders, Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier, who are likely out for the season.
“He’s been a huge part of our team right now,” said Tomas Tatar, who scored in regulation and the shootout along with Jesper Bratt. “He’s making some key saves and standing very tall for us.”
Playing in his first shootout, Daws stopped Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry.
“Shootouts are a lot of fun for me, and I enjoy them,” Daws said of his first in the NHL. “I just go and try to make saves, and that’s really all there is to it.”
Tatar scored on the Devils’ first shot with a backhander, and Bratt beat Anthony Stolarz with a forehand shot after a nice move.
“I made the first move on both of them and kind of made it easy for them,” said Stolarz, who finished with 39 saves. “Obviously, not the way you want to go out for a goalie going 0-for-2, but overall, I thought I played well and felt really good out there.”
Terry scored for Anaheim, which has lost six of their last eight games.
Terry’s 28th goal gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead with 8:58 left in the first period. He took a cross-ice pass from Max Comtois and beat Daws with a shot from the top of the right circle to the top left-hand corner of the net.
Tatar tied it early in the second period with his 11th goal. Jesper Boqvist set it up, stealing the puck at the Devils’ blue line and feeding Tatar for a shot in close to cap a 2-on-1 break.
Both goaltenders came up big in the third period to keep the game tied.
Stolarz stopped Pavel Zacha on a short-handed attempt and Dawson Mercer in close twice. He also stopped Jack Hughes in close in the overtime.
Daws made a close stop on Adam Henrique during the Ducks’ second power play of the third period. Henrique also hit his second goalpost of the game in the third period.
“The boys were on tonight for sure,” Ducks defenseman Josh Manson said of the goalies. “We tested their goalie pretty good; he made some good saves, and (Stolarz) was there for everything we needed him to be.”
Game notes
Ruff passed Al Arbour for fifth on the NHL games coached list with 1,608. … Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek was the Devils’ first 40-goal scorer with a career-high 46 goals in 1987-88. … Manson (upper body) played for the first time since Jan. 29 and had an assist on the first goal. … Rookie D Jamie Drysdale missed his first game of the season. He was a healthy scratch after being a minus-7 in the last two games.
UP NEXT:
- Ducks: At New York Islanders on Sunday night in the fourth game of a five-game trip.
- Devils: Open three-game trip to Western Canada on Tuesday night in Vancouver.
