Hellebuyck Makes 17 Saves as Devils Beat Stars 5-1

The New Jersey Devils defeated the Dallas Stars 5-1 at American Airlines Center on Tuesday, with goalie Connor Hellebuyck making 17 saves in his debut for New Jersey. Nico Hischier scored twice, while Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes each recorded a goal and an assist to help the Devils extend their winning streak to four games.

New Jersey improved to 8-4-0 and has won six of its past seven games. Dallas fell to 7-4-1, ending a five-game winning streak, according to the NHL's game report. Stars goalie Casey DeSmith stopped 22 shots.

Hellebuyck joined the Devils in a blockbuster trade with the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. New Jersey sent forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, goalie Nico Daws, the rights to forward Alexander Command, a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft to Winnipeg.

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe praised the new goalie's performance, particularly when Dallas threatened from dangerous areas near the net.

"I thought he was exceptional. As much as we liked so much of our game here today ... I did think that we gave up the slot a little bit too easily at different times today, and he was so solid in those plays," Keefe said.

Hellebuyck's season debut came as his suspension, which began on Sept. 16, was scheduled to end. The trade and an impasse with Winnipeg had delayed his return to game action.

"If you asked me, I was ready two months ago. I don’t know exactly when (starting tonight) was official, but I’ve just had the mindset since the day I got here that I want to get in.

"It was a lot of fun. I thought the guys in front of me played a perfect game for me to get acclimated. A low amount of shots, blocking everything, keeping everything to the outside.

They let me touch the puck a lot. ... You can practice touching it and feeling good with the hands, but it’s all about immediate decisions, checking and having a play already picked before you even get the puck. So, I touched it as many times as I could just to work through it," Hellebuyck said.

Hischier opened the scoring at 2:41 of the first period after receiving an opportunity on a two-on-one rush with Timo Meier. He maneuvered around Lian Bichsel before beating DeSmith with a shot from the bottom of the left circle.

Hischier credited Meier's speed and positioning for creating the opening that led to the goal.

"If you look at what Timo did, he sprinted through, which is always very hard for the goalie to defend there. That sprint opened up the option for me to cut in the middle, and then a big part is he stops in front of the net, too, so I can take it a little bit further and have pretty much an empty net," Hischier said.

Hischier doubled the lead just 38 seconds into the second period, one-timing Meier's drop pass from the top of the left circle past DeSmith's glove. Jesper Boqvist made it 3-0 at 11:45 after Jack Hughes delivered a no-look pass above the right circle.

Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic said the team understood the challenge of facing Dallas on its home ice.

"It was huge. We knew we had a big challenge. Dallas is a great team, a great home team, a great defensive team. So, we had a big challenge, and that was awesome," Kovacevic said.

Justin Hryckowian cut the deficit to 3-1 at 16:08 of the second period by redirecting Tyler Myers' shot from the point. Luke Hughes restored New Jersey's three-goal advantage 28 seconds later with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

Dallas captain Jamie Benn acknowledged the team's offensive struggles during the defeat.

"We just couldn’t get anything going tonight. Credit to them," Benn said.

Jack Hughes scored the final goal at 13:15 of the third period, beating DeSmith on the glove side to complete the 5-1 victory. It was Hughes' first goal at five-on-five this season, according to the NHL game notes.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan described the performance as the team's poorest showing of the season and said Dallas needed to examine its preparation and execution.

"For sure our worst game of the season. But they were good, too, so that’s why you see such a spread. It’s actually maybe less concerning when it’s everybody.

It was from the top down of our team, so we have to look at ourselves. What did we do in the last few days that we came out that flat?" Gulutzan said.

Gulutzan also said Dallas struggled to compete throughout the game as New Jersey took control.

"We didn’t win a battle all night. We just couldn’t get our footing, and once they smelled the blood in the water they could turn it up a little bit. That’s a good hockey team over there," Gulutzan said.

Dallas defenseman Kyle Capobianco left the game at 4:47 of the third period after falling following a collision with Meier. Gulutzan said Capobianco, who appeared to sustain a leg injury, was still being evaluated after the game.