The New Jersey Devils defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Monday night at the Prudential Center. The game took a turn early on after Nico Hischier took a dangerous head-first hit into the boards, and the team responded physically and on the scoreboard, grabbing a lead in the first that they never relinquished. New Jersey had some self-inflicted mistakes that gave Detroit far too many chances, but they held on to snap a three-game losing streak. With the win, the Devils improved to 14-7-1 while Detroit dropped to 13-9-1.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils had the early edge, stringing together some good O-zone shifts to open the game. Nico Hischier was boarded by JT Compher, sending the Devils to an early power play. Hischier skated off on his own power but went down the tunnel.
The Devils had zone time but couldn’t convert on the power play. Compher had a breakaway out of the penalty box, and Jacob Markstrom made a big save. Stefan Noesen stepped in and fought Compher in defense of his captain.
Noesen was tagged for fighting and an additional roughing penalty, much to the displeasure of Sheldon Keefe on the bench. Nonetheless, the Devils killed the penalty. Hischier returned to the ice during the kill.
Ondrej Palat had a wide-open chance off a feed from Arseny Gritsyuk, but couldn’t lift the puck over Cam Talbot.
Dougie Hamilton was called for hooking and sent the Red Wings back to the power play. Dawson Mercer did excellent work during the kill and ran the clock in New Jersey’s O-zone, and they killed the penalty.
The Devils went back to work in the offensive zone, and Timo Meier redirected a blast by Noesen to put New Jersey on the board first at 12:54. Hischier added a secondary assist.
New Jersey’s defense was passive in defending a rush, and the Red Wings got on the board at 16:33 on a goal by Alex DeBrincat. Patrick Kane and Moritz Seider had the assists.
The Devils answered right back with a slick tape-to-tape passing play that found Hischier, who lit the lamp from the high slot at 17:58, a bit of revenge for the ugly hit he took early in the period. Jesper Bratt and Meier had the assists.
New Jersey kept the pressure on and extended their lead at 19:04 off a redirection by Cody Glass in his first game back from injury. Luke Hughes and Connor Brown added assists.
The Devils outshot Detroit 9-7 through the opening 20 minutes.
Period Two
New Jersey opened the period with a penalty just 20 seconds in, and the Red Wings scored on a loose rebound in front of Markstrom at 1:30. James van Riemsdyk got the goal with assists from Andrew Copp and Emmitt Finnie.
The Red Wings had some sustained zone time, but Mercer forced a turnover behind Talbot’s net, and Brown grabbed the puck and shoveled it home at 8:38 for his first goal since returning from injury.
The Devils had a two-on-one opportunity, but sent it wide. The Red Wings had a rush chance of their own that went off the post.
Detroit pressured again after the Devils were sloppy trying to clear their zone, but they weathered the storm and eventually relieved the pressure.
New Jersey was outshot 15-6 in the frame but carried the two-goal lead into the third.
Period Three
The teams exchanged chances to open the period. The Devils had a turnover in front of Markstrom, but their netminder bailed them out with a chest save.
Palat had a breakaway attempt after Seider wiped out at the blueline, but Talbot made the save to prevent a three-goal lead. Evgenii Dadonov blew a tire and went hard into the half wall, but he remained on the bench.
The Red Wings capitalized on a loose puck in front of Markstrom, and Dylan Larkin hit the net at 10:12. Lucas Raymond and Seider had the assists. Finnie started a scrum after the goal, and Hischier and Meier went after him and other Red Wings players lingering in the vicinity.
Simon Nemec went off the ice after taking a dirty butt-end by Ben Chiarot that went uncalled. According to the NHL rulebook, a butt-end is at least an automatic major penalty.
Thankfully for the Devils, Nemec returned minutes later.
Jonas Siegenthaler collided with Raymond near center ice, likely sending a message after the cheap shot on Nemec.
The Red Wings pressed as time wound down, and Markstrom made a sparkling save on a shot from in close by Kane.
Detroit pulled Talbot in favor of the extra attacker, but despite the flurry of chances thrown on net, the Devils hung on to win and snap their three-game losing streak.
Larkin kicked off a major scrum after the final whistle, involving all five skaters, plus Markstrom, in the fighting. Hischier tried to go after Larkin, but Larkin skated away as the official held Hischier back.
Raymond initiated a fight with Siegenthaler near the blue line, but Siegenthaler laid some big hits and got the takedown as the commotion continued around the ice.
Eventually, the Devils were able to celebrate their win in their first game back at the Rock in two weeks. The Devils were outshot 35-20 but came away with the 4-3 victory.
Takeaways
Fight to the Finish
Back on home ice, the Devils had renewed fight in their game that wasn’t present in the past few contests. After their captain took a cheap shot in the opening minutes, they not only responded on the score sheet, with a goal, but they rallied together to stand up for themselves and each other after some dirty plays on Detroit’s part, including the boarding on Hischier and the nasty butt-end on Nemec.
Beyond the literal fight, the Devils also had fight in their game, responding to adversity much better than on their recent road trip. They didn’t allow the Red Wings to score consecutive goals at any point in the contest, a refreshing sight after allowing three goals in under thirty seconds just one game earlier against the Flyers.
Markstrom is largely to thank for that, as he had a great night between the pipes, but the Devils also played better in front of the net and were rewarded for the effort, even if it wasn’t always pretty.
Marky Masterclass
Jacob Markstrom had a shaky start to the season, in part due to injuries, but he was a star for the Devils on Monday. He made 32 saves on 35 shots for a .914 SV% and put up a 2.74 GSAx.
Beyond just the numbers, he made the timely saves that New Jersey needed. The breakaway save on Compher out of the penalty box and the numerous sprawling saves he made in the dying seconds of play were massive in terms of swinging momentum and ultimately earning two points.
A performance like that is encouraging to see, and hopefully Markstrom can build off it and get back into his rhythm from last season.
Areas to Improve
The Devils got the regulation win, but their performance was far from flawless. In particular, their zone exits need work.
The lopsided shot count was mainly due to the Devils’ inability to get the puck over the blue line efficiently. They had opportunities to end cycles and go the other way with the puck, but weak flips toward center ice were routinely picked off with ease and left New Jersey pinned in its zone.
The team as a whole needs to do a better job of identifying lanes to get the puck out or finding open ice in the zone to give the puck carrier an additional option to relieve pressure.
Postgame Comments and Updates
Sheldon Keefe identified “playing with the lead” as an area that the Devils needed to work on. When the Devils had their long win streak early in the season, they looked much smoother handling the puck in those late-game situations.
Keefe stated, “It’s been too long since we’ve gotten a win and played with the lead and all that kind of stuff, so the guys are probably overthinking it a little bit. I thought we still worked and competed, I just didn’t think we were as good with the puck and as a result defended too much.”
Siegenthaler was asked about his collision with Raymond near center ice and said, “I was trying to rush and turn around, wanted to change, and ran into him. I mean, it wasn’t very hard, I would say, but he can act however he wants. I don’t think it was bad.”
Additionally, NHL Player Safety announced on Tuesday that Chiarot was fined $5,000 for butt-ending Nemec.
Detroit’s Ben Chiarot has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for butt-ending New Jersey’s Simon Nemec.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 25, 2025
On the injury front, Keefe announced at practice that Evgenii Dadonov is doubtful for Wednesday’s game. He was injured against the Red Wings and is currently being evaluated.
Up Next
The Devils look to continue their home ice dominance on Wednesday night when they take on the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues are off to a rough start to the season, sitting seventh in the Central Division with a 7-10-6 record. They are just 3-3-4 in their past ten contests.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST on MSGSN2.
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