• Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe he believed defenseman Luke Hughes had the potential to elevate his game. And he showed something extra on the game’s opening goal. Hughes had the puck near the blue line with Utah’s Nick Bjugstad pressuring. Hughes passed the puck to himself after banking it off the boards and then showed incredible footwork to spin away from Bjugstad and find open ice above the circle. From there, he threw the puck at the net and Hischier tallied on the rebound.
"I thought Luke was outstanding tonight," Keefe said. "He made plays, defended hard, a really big effort by him tonight. That's the type of effort, type of game that helps a young defenseman grow."
• The Devils escaped a scare late in the second period. Luke Hughes was pursuing a puck in his own zone. Stenlund arrived first and as Luke was preparing to engage, he instead spun around, dropped his stick and hunched over in pain. He went straight to the bench and to the locker room. He missed the remainder of the second period but returned for the start of the third period.
"He got banged up toward the end of the second," Keefe said, "shook that off and played through it."
• Keefe noted that Timo Meier was the team’s best player at Colorado on Wednesday night. He said if Meier continued to play like that, his goals will come. And on cue, Meier picked up his first goal in nine games, and just his second goal in 21 games.
"If you get chances you know it's going to come eventually. You just have to keep working," Meier said. "You're not going to score on every chance. You try to keep going and not get frustrated. ... It's a matter of sticking with it, staying positive and don't get in your head. Then they're going to go in."
Meier skated wide when he received a pass. He entered the offensive zone, skated to the top of the circle and ripped a perfect shot into the top far corner to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead just 14 seconds after the puck dropped in the third period.
"I didn't over think it. I just ripped the puck and put it where I wanted it," Meier said.
• The Devils had one of their best starts to a game this season. They had energy, they had their legs, their passing was crisp, they tilted the ice. And in the opening 30 minutes of the game, the Devils had a 1-0 lead and 17-12 edge in shots. The shots were even deceiving as the Devils had several high-quality chances while Utah had none.
However, the club failed to get that second goal and increase its lead despite several glorious opportunities. Timo Meier had a breakaway and was denied. Nathan Bastian had a breakaway and was denied. In the second period, Ondrej Palat had the puck at the crease with Vejmelka on his belly. But Palat couldn’t lift the puck over the Czechia goalie’s leg pad. The Devils generate a lot of chances to build on their lead, but instead the game stayed tight and Utah managed to tie it at 1-1 halfway through the second period. The Devils had a chance to blow this one away and win comfortably, but instead they had to win a tight one.
• Kudos to Brenden Dillon for dropping the gloves against Liam O’Brien, a legitimate tough guy. O’Brien is a spark plug at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds. Dillon didn’t back down and stood with him toe-to-toe. Though no punches were really landed, it was a great showing of guts and heart by Dillon.
• Goalie Nico Daws improved to a perfect 3-0 on the season. His best save came with just six minutes left in regulation and the Devils holding a 3-1 lead. Daws was down on his right post when a pass went through the crease to Logan Cooley on the other side. Daws pushed off his post, did a split and reached out perfectly with the glove to snag the shot.
"I knew I needed to make a save for them, they deserved it," Daws said of the glove save. "It was a hard shot. My glove almost came off, my hands were so sweaty."
Daws looks a lot more comfortable and composed in his net when there are loose puck scrambles at the crease. Instead of frantically trying to locate the puck, he calmly holds his position and made the saves look easy.
"It has a lot to do with comfort" Daws said. "I've played a few games up here now and I know what to expect. I think sometimes less is more. I think that's a big part of my game overall."
"He looks like he's confident," Keefe said. "With confidence comes calm in the net. He's done a really nice job. It was a really good performance by him tonight."
