Devils hand Utah 1st loss of inaugural season behind Allen's 20-save shutout

NEWARK, N.J. -- Jake Allen made 20 saves to earn his first shutout as a member of the New Jersey Devils in a 3-0 win against the Utah Hockey Club at Prudential Center on Monday.

It was Allen's 25th shutout of his NHL career and first since he had 22 saves for the Montreal Canadiens in a 4-0 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at Bell Centre on Feb. 14, 2023.

"I mean, the win is the important part, and the shutout is a bonus for me at this point my career," Allen said. "Honestly, the guys made it pretty easy on me for the most part. I made a couple tough saves, but they did a great job."

Nico Hischier and Seamus Casey each had a goal and an assist, and Stefan Noesen scored for the Devils (4-1-0).

"I think it was very solid effort by us," Hischier said. "We knew they were hot, they were feeling good about themselves, so we knew we had to be ready. They got a lot of skill, a lot of speed, so I think we did a good job to eliminate that and stick with our game plan. If we play our hockey, we're a really good team."

Karel Vejmelka made 30 saves for Utah (3-1-0), which had won the first three games of its inaugural season by scoring 16 goals and tying for the best power play in the NHL (42.9 percent). It went 0-for-4 against the Devils.

"[New Jersey] played really well," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. "Those guys on the other side are well coached. They know what kind of threat we are. Our first three games, I talked about how much we went inside to get rebounds and tips. If you don't get those, you don't get the next one."

The most notable of Allen's six first-period saves came against Alex Kerfoot with his glove on a snap shot from the slot at 3:34.

"At the start it wasn't pretty, but we just found our game," Allen said. "We stayed patient, and then the power play finally got its opportunity and made the most of it (2-for-7). The guys were ready. I could tell when they came in today. Sometimes afternoon games are little quirky, you get some slow starts, but I felt it in the dressing room that guys were ready to go."

Casey gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 1:14 of the second. The rookie defenseman forced a turnover at Utah's blue line, took a pass from Hischier, skated down the slot and picked the top right corner for his third goal of the season.

"I mean, I haven't always been a goal scorer in my life, so to start with three goals is maybe not like super expected, but I'm just trying to play simple and take chances when I get them," Casey said. "Finding the back of the net right now is nice."

Allen said the 20-year-old has shown tremendous patience and assertiveness early in his first professional season.

"The first place he looks is the middle and not many guys look at that at that age, but he's got the poise to look in the middle and then find his options," Allen said. "He's got a gifted offensive touch, and we can see that, but he's got great deception with this release. He's off to a great start and I'm just happy with his poise and the way he's carried himself."

Noesen made it 2-0 at 8:13 on a backhand off a rebound in the slot. Casey earned the primary assist on a shot from the point.

"Noesen is like a magnet in front of the net," Casey said. "If you can just get it down there, he's going to have a chance at it. For all of us, it's just trying to find a lane so that those big guys can get to work."

Hischier's power-play goal put New Jersey ahead 3-0 at 10:13 of the third. The Devils captain took a pass in the slot from Jack Hughes and scored his second of the season on a snap shot.

"You want to stay out of the penalty box and their power play was better than ours tonight," Utah forward Dylan Guenther said. "That gave their top players momentum."

NOTES: Utah defenseman Sean Durzi sustained an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. ... Devils forward Jesper Bratt had an assist to extend his point streak to four games (one goal, three assists). ... Allen became the first goalie in NHL history with wins against 33 different franchises.