Now, that’s a Mammoth of a victory for Jacob Markstrom, one that could change the trajectory of his season. At least, the New Jersey Devils (20-14-1) are hoping so.
Visiting the Delta Center for the first time since the Utah Hockey Club rebranded to the Utah Mammoth (17-17-3), the Devils looked like they might be off to another strong start, until they didn’t. Fortunately, Markstrom was locked in for the Mammoth, making 32 saves, securing his ninth win of the season, while accruing 2.93 goals saved above expected, per HockeyStats.
And despite a lethargic power play, it came through in a timely moment, seeing the Devils down the Mammoth 2-1 in regulation.
The Devils quickly outshot the Mammoth 3-0 following several scoring chances created by Nico Hischier‘s line. However, Mammoth goaltender, Karel Vejmelka, fought off the Devils attack, and it tilted the ice toward Utah’s end.
Markstrom made a strong early stop when Daniil But threw Utah’s first shot on goal via an odd-man rush. However, a strong sliding save by the Devils goaltender kept Utah off the board.
Dougie Hamilton was assessed a tripping minor at the 08:10 mark of the first period, which sent the Mammoth to their first power play. Just over a minute into the man advantage for Utah, But converted on his second scoring chance of the game, netting his first NHL goal, and giving Utah a 1-0 lead.
The Devils received the opportunity to even the score when But was later assessed a minor penalty for tripping, and then Nate Schmidt’s cross-check on Luke Hughes gave New Jersey a 5-on-3 advantage. Yet, a slow start to the power play and strong net minding by Vejmelka killed the penalties and maintained the Mammoth lead.
Through the first half of the second period, New Jersey had several opportunities to tie the game on the man advantage.
However, a vanilla, passive Devils power play didn’t get the job done, and they were already 0/5 on special teams halfway through the game.
Fortunately, Connor Brown got the Devils on the board, skating the puck into the zone, moving it deep below Utah’s goal line, and rifled a shot past Vejmelka in the right circle after dumping the puck to Hischier.
The second period tally is Brown’s second in as many games, third in his last four.
Despite being outshot 18-6 in the middle frame, the Devils maintained the 1-1 tie going into the second intermission.
During their sixth opportunity on the power play in the third period, the Devils finally scored on the advantage to take a 2-1 lead. Stefan Noesen at the net-front collected a rebound created by Hischier, and deposited the puck to give New Jersey their first lead of the game.
A back and forth third period saw the Devils and Mammoth trade even strength chances. That was until Dawson Mercer took a late-game tripping penalty with 1:21 to go in the third period.
The Mammoth pressured 6-on-4 in the final moments of the game, however, Marksrom and the Devils hung on for the 2-1 victory.
