The New Jersey Devils headed into American Airlines Center to face the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night in what essentially felt like a preseason match heading in. With the playoffs already out of the picture, they were only playing for moral victories and positive vibes.
Don’t mistake that with the games being entirely unimportant, though. The Devils edged out the Stars 6-4, showing once more that their reversion to a freer style of hockey is the best option to get the most juice out of their roster.
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Free As A Bird…
Golden goal scorer Jack Hughes got the scoring party started against fellow U.S. teammate Jake Oettinger, whom (by the way) was 12-0-2 in his last 14 coming in. The Devils chased him out of the game with four first period goals.
While ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd definitely did not play in the arena for Jack’s goal, the Devils continued to be free as a bird in their own right. Since switching to a freer style of play on or around Feb. 28, the Devils have scored 3.94 goals per game — good for second-best in the league. (via Natural Stat Trick)
As it’s always important to view the full picture, has the improved offense come at the expense of their defense? Let’s look:
Prior to Feb. 28, the Devils allowed three goals per 60 minutes (GA/60) and 3.18 expected goals per 60 minutes (xGA/60). They scored 2.44 goals per 60 (GF/60) — dead last in the league — on 3.18 expected goals (xGF/60).
Since then, they’ve allowed 2.87 GA/60 — a 4.3% improvement — and 2.70 xGA/60 — a 15.1% improvement. Meanwhile, their scoring has improved by over 61%.
How could the defense get better despite a freer style, where they’re more likely to be caught out of position?
The answer to that is puck possession. When the Devils’ rush offense is working, they’re cycling more in the offensive zone; there’s not nearly as much one-and-done. Thus, by simple mathematics, there’s less opportunity for the opponent to sustain their own offense.
When it backfires, it can look a little dicey, as we saw in the second period when the Devils allowed two goals in quick succession. And again in the third with a heavy push from the Stars.
But at the end of the day — there’s been improvement in both the offensive and defensive metrics, and most importantly: the record. They’re now 8-3-0 since that Feb. 28 date.
The numbers don’t lie; this new style of play is leaps and bounds better than trying to win low scoring games.
Jesper Bratt Finishing His Chances
Jesper Bratt scored one of the most beautiful goals of his career in the first period. Just watch this:
Jesper Bratt contre tout le monde! Quel but! 😈 pic.twitter.com/LtTBGyZk9t
— LNH (@LNH_FR) March 25, 2026
After he mightily struggled to finish his chances — just 14 goals in his first 147 shots (9.5%) — tonight marked his fourth straight game with a goal — four goals in the following eight shots. In total, he has nine points in his last six games.
Bratt has always been capable of scoring goals with regularity. Him finishing the season on a strong note like this would be greatly beneficial heading into next season.
Devils Shutting the Door
While a lot has not gone so swell for the Devils this season, one area they can take a ton of pride in is their ability to close out games when leading. Despite all the momentum being in the Stars’ favor — plus a rocky first few minutes of the third — head coach Sheldon Keefe rallied his troops and steered them in the right direction.
Sheldon Keefe has his whole team gathered during this TV timeout. They’re having discussions.
It’s been a less than ideal start to the third. #NJDevils
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) March 25, 2026
A couple minutes later, Timo Meier scored a huge insurance goal. It’s that exact ability to keep their foot on the gas (and not sit back) that has improved their record to a perfect 22-0-0 when leading after two frames. If only they gave themselves more leads to work with this season!
Moving Forward
The Devils — now 36-32-2 — will return to action as they head to Tennessee on Thursday to face the Nashville Predators (8:00 PM EDT).
