The Vegas Golden Knights kick off a five-game Eastern Conference road trip on Friday when they face the slumping New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J.
The Golden Knights, who play seven of their next eight games away from home, have traditionally played well in the month of December, going 65-24-8 all-time, including 10-2-0 last season.
Vegas, which has won two in a row, started the month off well with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Carter Hart made 27 saves and yielded just one goal on four shootout attempts in his first NHL start since Jan. 20, 2024. Shea Theodore had two assists and scored the game-winner in the fourth round of the shootout.
After Theodore netted a backhand shot past Chicago goalie Spencer Knight to win it, the Golden Knights mobbed Hart at center ice. The 27-year-old Hart had been sidelined with four other members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior gold medal-winning squad who were all acquitted in a sexual assault case in late July.
“It’s been a real difficult journey to get back,” Hart, fighting back tears, told reporters afterward. “Wouldn’t have been able to do it without my family and friends.”
“He was excellent,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “As the game went on, I thought he got cleaner. In terms of athletic saves, there were a number of them, especially when it was 3-2. … I think the guys were happy for him for obvious reasons.”
Hart is expected to alternate with Akira Schmid while starter Adin Hill (groin) remains sidelined.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Theodore said. “He made a lot of huge saves, especially in the shootout. We’re all happy for him.”
New Jersey has dropped the first three games of a four-game homestand and comes in off a 3-0 loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves in a losing effort for New Jersey.
The Devils, who went 8-1-0 to begin the season, are 3-6-0 in their last nine games and have slipped into fourth place in the Metropolitan Division.
Injuries, especially to star center Jack Hughes, have played a key factor in the slump. Hughes had 10 goals and 10 assists in just 17 games before suffering a non-hockey finger injury that required surgery on Nov. 15. Hughes is expected to miss another month.
“You’re not going to replace a Jack Hughes,” defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “You’re not going to replace these guys that are injured. By committee, instead of those highlight-reel goals, (need to get) some greasy rebounds, throwing stuff to the net, crashing the net, (and) we’re just seeming to do that now. We’re going to have to change gears on that quick.”
The loss to the Stars was the fourth game in six days for the Devils, who appeared to be fatigued over the final two periods.
“You need something to spark the group,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “A coach can only bark so much. (Dallas) didn’t make it easy on us once they got the lead, and we didn’t seem to have the juice to go and earn it. We just didn’t have a lot of juice (Wednesday). It’s tough.”
–Field Level Media
