Golden Knights 2-5 Devils: Hughes brothers and Gritsyuk spoil Vegas's night
Jack Hughes scored twice, Arseny Gritsyuk matched him, and new Devils goalie Connor Hellebuyck won his second straight start as New Jersey pulled away 5-2 at T-Mobile Arena.
The New Jersey Devils walked into one of the NHL's toughest buildings on Friday and left with a statement: a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights built on star scoring, depth scoring, and a goaltender who has needed exactly two games to look at home.
How it unfolded
The first period was a trade of punches. Luke Hughes opened at 5:38 with a one-timer from the left circle, but Vegas answered twice in 90 seconds late in the frame — Mark Stone tipping home a Mitch Marner shot on the power play at 16:27, then Ivan Barbashev finishing Marner's pass at the far post at 17:57. Before the period ended, Arseny Gritsyuk pulled New Jersey level at 18:51, per NHL.com's game recap.
Then the game turned on one shift of individual brilliance. At 3:49 of the second, Jack Hughes carved through three defenders and beat Adin Hill to make it 3-2 — a lead the Devils never surrendered. Gritsyuk added his second on a rebound at 18:16 of the period, and Jack Hughes sealed it into an empty net.
The Hellebuyck factor
Connor Hellebuyck, acquired from Winnipeg in the October 23 trade, made 19 saves for his second straight win in a Devils sweater, following a 17-save, 5-1 victory at Dallas on Tuesday. Hill stopped 27 at the other end.
Why it matters
New Jersey improves to 9-5-0 and looks like a team whose biggest question — goaltending — may have been answered in one trade. Vegas falls to 9-5-1 and has now dropped into a 1-3-1 skid over its past five despite two more assists from Marner. Identical points of the season, very different directions of travel.