Casey DeSmith stops 31 shots to lead the Stars to a 4-2 win over the Devils
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Evgenii Dadonov and defenseman Thomas Harley scored first-period goals and Casey DeSmith made 31 saves as the Dallas Stars defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Saturday night.
Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston also scored for Dallas in the teams' first game after the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament break.
Jack Hughes scored twice for New Jersey. Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton assisted on both goals.
Dadonov opened the scoring at 3:58 of the first with his 16th goal. Harley made it 2-0, beating Devils goaltender Jake Allen at 5:44 with his 10th goal of the season on a power play. Harley leads all Stars defensemen with 30 points.
Hughes ended DeSmith’s shutout bid with a power-play goal at the 10-minute mark of the third before Duchene restored the Stars’ two-goal margin 35 seconds later with his 23rd of the season.
Hughes scored his team-leading 26th of the season at 11:40 to make it 3-2.
Johnston scored into an empty net at 19:50.
Allen made 22 saves in defeat.
Devils: New Jersey fell to 15-10-4 at home and is 2-4-1 in its last seven home games. The Devils play their next five games on the road - including a visit to Dallas on March 4.
Stars: Dallas improved its road record to 16-11-1.
Dadonov’s opening goal established momentum for the Stars, who are second in the Central Division with 74 points.
Smith improved to 10-6-0. The veteran netminder joined Dallas as a free agent in July, backing up Jake Oettinger. His best save was point-blank stop on Bratt with just under nine minutes left in the third.
Both teams play Sunday. New Jersey is at Nashville, and Dallas is at the New York Islanders.
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