The New Jersey Devils‘ (22-17-2) New Year’s resolution for 2026 was to get their swagger back. On Saturday afternoon, hosting the Utah Mammoth (19-20-3) at the Prudential Center, they made good on that declaration in a 4-1 victory.
The Devils and Mammoth started fairly even through the first 10 minutes of the first period, trading even strength chances.
However, New Jersey began to tilt the ice in their direction, and it all started in the top-six. First, Jack Hughes led a rush into the Mammoth’s zone, curled back and left the puck for Brett Pesce. The Devils’ defenseman’s shot hit off the end board, and Jesper Bratt collected the rebound, and scored a wraparound backhander to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.
Arseny Gritsyuk fed Timo Meier in the neutral zone, and the Devils quickly doubled the score under two minutes later. Meier rifled a shot on the rush past Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka, giving New Jersey a 2-0 lead.
At the 6:51 mark of the middle frame, Nick Schmaltz went to the box for tripping Ondrej Palat, and exactly one minute later, Mikhail Sergachev sent the puck over the glass in the neutral zone for a delay of game.
The Devils were awarded with a 5-on-3 power play for exactly one minute. As soon as the two-man advantage expired, however, Nico Hischier tapped in a loose puck on a rebound created by Jack, extending New Jersey’s lead to 3-0 on the power play.
About a minute and a half later, Dougie Hamilton skated the puck from the far wall in the offensive zone, to the goal line, and sniped a perfect shot over the left shoulder of Vejmelka, and under the crossbar to extend the Devils’ lead to 4-0.
Hamilton’s goal on Saturday is his first in 26 games.
Utah opened the scoring in the third period when Michael Carcone scored his seventh goal of the season, shortly after the Devils killed their second penalty of the night.
Holding down a 4-1 lead, the Devils clamped down on the Utah attack, taking two points in regulation on Saturday afternoon.
Jacob Markstrom stood strong during his first start of 2026, capturing his 10th win amid a 28-save performance.
