QUICK HITS
BLUES The Blues narrowly avoided being shutout for a third time this season thanks to Pius Suter, who scored with 57.3 seconds remaining in the game. It's a minor consolation prize, but far from the result the team was looking for.
"I think what's missing is our players going to hard areas consistently...we have to commit to going to harder areas so that we can generate more 5-on-5 greasy goals," said Head Coach Jim Montgomery.
Adam Fox gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second period, beating Joel Hofer with a wrist shot on an odd-man rush. With 10:59 remaining in the game, Will Cuylle capitalized on a Blues turnover at their own blue line to create a tic-tac-toe passing play with Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Blues recorded 33 shots on goal and went 0-for-6 on the power play. Theo Lindstein and Alexey Toropchenko both assisted on Suter's goal, and Joel Hofer made 28 saves on 30 shots.
DEVILS Connor Hellebuyck is a New Jersey Devil.
Sunny Mehta made a big swing in his first full season as general manager after replacing Tom Fitzgerald in April. The Devils acquired the three-time Vezina Trophy winning goaltender from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for forwards Dawson Mercer, Nick Bjugstad and Alexander Command, goaltender Nico Daws and two draft picks. The Oct. 24 blockbuster trade ended Hellebuyck's roster holdout after he did not report to training camp and was suspended by the Jets.
Hellebuyck hasn't shown much rust this season, despite not having played in an NHL game since April 13. In his first three games with New Jersey, he has a 3-0 record, a 1.95 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.
The Devils' aggressive trade strategy under Mehta began well before the Hellebuyck deal. In June, New Jersey overhauled their forward depth by sending goaltender Jakob Markstrom and forward Angus Crookshank to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves. In September the Devils acquired forward Luke Evangelista from the Nashville Predators, giving up two draft picks in the process.
Devils captain Nico Hischier signed a five-year contract extension with the team on July 1. Forwards Barrett Hayton and Anthony Mantha, and goaltender David Rittich signed as free agents during the offseason.
The Devils are chasing their first playoff appearance in two years after being eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Along with the acquisitions made to bolster the roster, New Jersey mainstays Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt lead the offense with 19 and 13 points respectively. Defenseman Luke Hughes, Jack's brother, leads all New Jersey defensemen in scoring with five goals and three assists. The Devils' goaltending tandem now includes Hellebuyck, who started his second consecutive game on Tuesday, and former Blue Jake Allen, who has a 5-3 record this season.
New Jersey currently sits in second place in the Metropolitan division with a 10-5-0 record and are 7-2-0 at Prudential Center this season. They enter Thursday's matchup against St. Louis fresh off a 4-3 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
