NEWARK, N.J. — If Pete DeBoer entered Tuesday night concerned about his team, he left it anything but.
The Stars bounced back from a deflating loss in Pittsburgh on Monday to deliver perhaps their best win of the season, beating the Devils 4-1 on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center. One night after allowing the game-winning goal in the final minute, the Stars hung on and added two empty-net goals to seal their victory.
“I was really worried about mentally where we’re at,” DeBoer said. “I thought the guys were outstanding, that’s a testament to our leadership.”
Ty Dellandrea, Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell (empty-netter) and Mason Marchment (empty-netter) scored for the Stars, who were backstopped by Scott Wedgewood’s 35 impressive saves.
Wedgewood went save-for-save with Devils rookie Akira Schmid, exchanging highlight saves throughout an entertaining game, including a rambunctious second period. Schmid finished with 28 saves, but many of the difficult variety.
Schmid denied Jason Robertson during a rush chance in the second period. Luke Glendening and Joel Kiviranta had consecutive shots during on a breakaway that were stopped. Schmid robbed Glendening once more in the third period.
Dellandrea beat Schmid on a tip of a Ryan Suter point shot. Hintz scored by shoveling home a Miro Heiskanen rebound that clanged off the frame. If the Stars were going to beat Schmid on Tuesday night, they needed a richochet.
The same could be said for the Devils attempting to crack Wedgewood.
New Jersey’s only goal of the evening came from Miles Wood, as he tipped a Kevin Bahl shot past Wedgewood.
“There’s a little bit of pride for me on my side to come in, and steal some games,” Wedgewood said. “Obviously, you’re not going to have it every night on back-to-backs, but just to keep the team in it as long as possible, give them a chance to maybe jump ahead. I thought I did that all night.
“They were confident in me and I was confident in myself.”
Wedgewood is a former Devils draft pick, traded away for a fifth-rounder that eventually became Schmid. (“You’re welcome,” Wedgewood joked after the game.) During his second stint in Jersey, Wedgewood was waived and claimed by Arizona.
“Just a place near and dear to my heart, so it’s obviously a little fun, a little challenge,” Wedgewood said. “But coming away with a win is a big part of it.”
Robertson: “I think he was dialed in. He knew what it meant, not just for our team, but personally. It was a great performance, and we’re very happy for him.”
Wedgewood made 19 saves in a frenetic second period, and came up big late in the third period, first when the Devils went on the power play and then when they pulled their goalie. New Jersey attempted seven shots on the power play, and Wedgewood sealed a net-front scramble before an early whistle saved the Stars from what would have been Erik Haula’s game-tying goal.
“If we can be patient and kind of take away some of their options, be a little bit more not overpressured, overaggressive, it plays in our favor,” Wedgewood said of the late penalty kill. “Then it gives me time to either stay on the guy that’s going to shoot or at least play deeper so I can get across and play on the one-timer options.”
But at its core on Tuesday night, the game was about how impressive a win the Stars delivered.
Less than 24 hours before, they turned a promising night into an empty-handed one in Pittsburgh. The Stars had not won either of their two second games of a back-to-back this season. They were facing the third-highest scoring team in the league, a Devils squad that had only lost five times in regulation this season.
“Emotionally, you lose that, it’s tough, but then to come back and play well against a really good team,” Suter said. “Yeah, you’re only as good as your next win, so we’ve just got to keep getting better and building on it.”
DeBoer added: “It was an emotional letdown to lose the way we did, and really tested our resiliency bouncing back here tonight. That’s what I was happiest about. We played a really hard game yesterday, lost in as tough a way you can lose and showed up tonight, and went back to work again with a real good effort.”
The Stars will have an off day on Wednesday before facing the Capitals in Washington on Thursday.
