“I actually really liked our team’s game,” Hughes said. “I thought we came with good pop and good energy and played a pretty good 60 minutes. Would have rather not fallen down 2-0, but it was a good effort, and we need to play a similar way tomorrow night.”
The Devils had the first four shots on goal, but the Stars struck first when Evgenii Dadonov pounced on a rebound and tucked it past Jake Allen just four minutes into the game. Less than two minutes later, Thomas Harley blasted a shot from the high slot to double the Dallas lead after a power play opportunity.
“From a process point of view? The things we were struggling in going into the break, we showed up very well," said Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe. "Had more legs, more energy. Gave up a few really high-end chances against which will screw up the expected goals and all that but we played well.”
New Jersey controlled long stretches of play in the second period but struggled to break through. The Devils outshot the Stars 6-2 in the opening seven minutes of the frame before Nico Hischier was called for a high-sticking double minor. Despite the setback, the Devils killed off the four-minute penalty and generated momentum heading into the third.
“It’s frustrating, for sure,” Hischier said. “But during the game, you have to try not to get too frustrated. We did a great job killing that, and then we got the momentum right back.”
Hughes finally broke through at the 10-minute mark of the third period, wiring a one-timer from the right circle past Casey DeSmith to cut the deficit to one. However, just 35 seconds later, Matt Duchene restored the Stars’ two-goal cushion with a sharp-angle shot.
“Our power play’s pretty good. We had some good looks,” Hughes said. “But they’re a good team. When they get a lead, they just sit back and don’t give anything up.”
Hughes responded again, finishing a feed from Jesper Bratt behind the net to make it a 3-2 game with just over five minutes to play.
“He’s been great for us all year. Not much to say about him. Two big goals,” Hischier said of Hughes. “We knew eventually it was going to come and Jack stepped up for the team.”
The Devils had one final opportunity when Hischier drew a high-sticking penalty with 44 seconds left, giving them a late power play. But with Allen pulled for an extra attacker, the Stars iced the game with an empty-net goal.
Despite the loss, coach Keefe saw plenty of positives in his team’s performance.
“I liked our start. I liked our game,” Keefe said. “It’s disappointing to be down two in the first period. A couple of mistakes, they make us pay. That’s what they do. But we played well.”
