The New Jersey Devils headed to Utah on Friday to face the Mammoth for the first time since their announcement their new team name. After a great goaltending performance from Jacob Markstrom, they can now say they defeated the Mammoth. they achieved a 2–1 victory.
Related: Devils win with Jacob Markstrom holding Mammoth to one goal
Rough night for special teams canceled out by Clutch PPG
Prior to tonight’s game, as of October 26, the Devils’ PK% ranked 31st in the NHL at 68.2%, barely ahead of the Seattle Kraken (68.1%). Most of that damage has been done recently: just eight games ago they were in seventh place in the NHL. Now they are ranked 28th. They gave up a power-play goal on Utah’s first chance after Dougie Hamilton took a tripping penalty.
Additionally, the power play struggled mightily, starting with an 0-for-4 game, including their third failed 5-on-3 opportunity in the past week. But you know what they say: The fifth time’s the charm.
With their fifth man advantage, they simplified things. Nico Hischier got the puck through and Stefan Noesen banged in the rebound. While there is still cause for concern (the power play is only 2 for the last 23 – 8.7%), this could be a harbinger of things to come. They’re far too talented a group – even without Jack Hughes – to be clicking at anything less than a 10% clip.
Stefan Noesen gives the Devils a 2-1 lead 😈 pic.twitter.com/vSCEJvqqLW
— Sportnet (@Sportsnet) December 20, 2025
The penalty also has something to build on as they have killed their last three penalties, including over a minute of a 6-on-4 for Utah to seal the game. Now they need to stack positive achievements together, instead of just being one-offs.
Huge rebound for Jacob Markstrom
When Markstrom – who entered the night with an .874 save percentage (SV%) – allowed a goal on Utah’s third shot – it was an alarming continuation of a noticeable trend. This season he only needed an average of 6.4 shots to concede the first goal.
Daniil But’s shot, his first NHL goal, had only a 7.4% chance of being a goal. No pun intended, but… to Markstrom’s credit, instead of unraveling as has been the case in many recent games, he stopped the next thirty shots. When all was said and done, he stopped 32 of 33 (0.970%) for +2.82 goals saved above expectations, per money bag.
Markstrom has had a SV% above .890% in a game just once in his first nine outings (11.1%). Since then, he has eclipsed that mark five out of nine times (55.5%). Like special teams, Markstrom will hope success comes more consistently now.
Points are more important than underlying numbers
According to Natural Stat TrickAt 5v5, the Devils only had five scoring chances. That was their lowest production of the season…by far. The next closest was 14 when they were eliminated by the Florida Panthers on November 20.
The total scoring odds for the game were 21-5 in favor of the Mammoth. There’s no doubt the Devils would want better underlying results, but with a number of bodies out of the lineup, this has to be taken with a grain of salt. Especially with Jack out, every leaderboard point to stay afloat is so crucial. Although they now sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division, they are only one point behind the Washington Capitals for second place. That’s indicative of this season’s parity within the Eastern Conference.
“[We’ve now won] four out of six. It doesn’t necessarily feel that way, because our play isn’t something we’ve repeated in consecutive games… [but] it goes a long way for the team,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe to NJD.TV. “These are four difficult points [we’ve earned on the road trip]. It’s not easy to travel to Vegas and come back here [to Utah] and it won’t be easy with a quick return home. But you’re trying to buy some time, get some points, and I think we’ll get some bodies back when we get home on Sunday, which will be great.
Come on
The Devils – now 20-14-1 – will take on the Buffalo Sabers on Sunday (7 p.m. EST) at Prudential Center.
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