The Vegas Golden Knights kicked off their five-game road trip with a 3-0 shutout victory against the New Jersey Devils Friday night at Prudential Center.

Akira Schmid got the nod against his former team and stopped all 24 shots he faced for his third career shutout and second of the season.

Carter Hart reportedly suffered an injury in Tuesday’s game against Chicago and is now listed as day-to-day. Colton Sissons also was a late scratch after leaving warmups early due to illness, allowing Reilly Smith to jump back into the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch for two games.

The Golden Knights took a 1-0 lead in the final 13 seconds of the opening frame and added two late power-play goals in the final five minutes of regulation for the win, improving their 2025-26 record to 13-6-8.

Vegas got off to a really strong start, testing Jacob Markstrom early and forcing the Devils netminder to come up with save after save.

Both teams had a goal taken off the board in the opening 20 minutes. The Devils took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Timo Meier, who made a strong play to lift Shea Theodore’s stick before turning and firing a shot that made its way past Schmid. But Vegas issued a successful challenge for offside, which reset the score.

It was the third time this season that a goal has been overturned in a Golden Knights game when a player has lost possession when entering the offensive zone (Nikita Kucherov, Brett Howden and now Meier). The decisions regarding possession at the blue line have been questionable, though the referees have been consistent.

Later in the period, Pavel Dorofeyev appeared to score on a deflection, but his stick was well above the cross bar when he made contact with the puck, negating the tally.

But Theodore had the final word when his shot found twine with just over 12 seconds left on the clock. Theodore’s fourth of the season proved to be the game-winner.

The Devils pushed back in the second period, controlling possession and outshooting Vegas 11-7 with a 26-12 edge in shot attempts and 12-5 advantage in scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

Schmid stepped up, however, turning aside all 11 shots and helping the Golden Knights maintain the narrow lead going into the third period.

The Golden Knights’ penalty kill came through with two big kills in the third. Vegas then got two opportunities on the man-advantage, and the Golden Knights capitalized on both.

First, Tomas Hertl scored an important insurance goal, getting a piece of a Mitch Marner one-timer to make it a 2-0 game at 15:36. It was Hertl’s 12th goal and sixth power-play goal of the season.

Then, Ivan Barbashev scored his 10th goal of the year to seal the win, as he cleaned up a rebound in front to make it 3-0 at 18:36.

The Golden Knights have won three games in a row with three different goaltenders, and Schmid was perfect as he squared off against his former team. He was especially strong during New Jersey’s push in the second period. He set a new career high with his 10th win of the year.

Though there weren’t any penalties until the third period, the special teams battle was a critical factor in the outcome of the game, and it was a battle the Golden Knights won cleanly, going 2-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Vegas’ power play has improved substantially since the return of Mark Stone, and the penalty kill has been excellent in recent games. Vegas has been aggressive when shorthanded, winning stick battles and races and limiting chances, and it paid off against New Jersey.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy offered clarification about Hart’s status after the game, explaining that Hart suffered a minor injury in the Chicago game and then aggravated that injury in Thursday’s practice. The Golden Knights didn’t want to take a chance by rushing him back in case Schmid was unable to finish the game. Hart will remain with the team, and Cassidy expects him to be available at some point on this road trip. The Golden Knights recalled Jesper Vikman, who served as Schmid’s backup.

The Golden Knights will take on the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday before moving on to face the Islanders, Flyers and Blue Jackets.

Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.

Photo credit via @GoldenKnights on X