DeSmith makes 31 saves, Stars hold off Devils
Duchene, Johnston each has 2 points; Hughes scores twice, Hischier returns for New Jersey
Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist for the Stars (36-18-2), who are 7-1-1 in their past nine games.
"Our goal was to be our best come the end of the year, build the details into our game, and get our game to a place where we feel really good about it going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs," DeSmith said. "We're almost there so we just got to keep building."
Jack Hughes scored twice, Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton each had two assists, and Jake Allen made 22 saves for the Devils (31-21-6), who have alternated wins and losses the past seven games (3-4-0). Hughes represented the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
"Their goalie played really well the first two periods," Hughes said.
Evgenii Dadonov gave Dallas a 1-0 lead 3:58 into the first period on a rebound at the left post.
Thomas Harley extended it to 2-0 with a power-play goal on a wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle at 5:44. Harley represented Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
"I think [Johnston] got a pretty good pick on Nico Hischier there and I had some open space, skated into it and put it on net," Harley said. "[DeSmith] was unbelievable. We know we have two great goaltenders (with Jake Oettinger). Whoever is in is going to give us a great chance to win and 'Case' did more than that tonight. He stole one for us."
Jack Hughes scored a power-play goal to cut it to 2-1 at 10:00 of the third period on a one-timer from the right face-off circle.
"They're really dangerous, a great rush team," DeSmith said. "Their power play seemed like it was clicking pretty well. They did a lot of really good things, and it was fortunate to come out on the right side of this one."
Duchene pushed it to 3-1 at 10:35 after he skated to the high slot, took a pass from Jamie Benn, and scored on a wrist shot through a screen.
"It was a huge goal," Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. "We're on our heels, they're pressing. They have all the momentum and, obviously, it's the game-winning goal, a difference in the game."
Jack Hughes cut it to 3-2 with his second goal of the game just 1:05 later on a snap shot from the left circle at 11:40.
"I thought we had good energy, skated really well but we made a couple of mistakes and they made us pay ... that's what they do," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We just didn't have enough offense."
DeSmith stopped Hamilton with a left pad save on a quick snap shot at the right post at 17:11 to preserve the lead.
"This was a tough game to play after a break, on the road, especially when you look at some of the scores around the League," DeBoer said. "I liked our grit, and I loved our goalie. [DeSmith] was our best player tonight and we needed him to be. We did enough to win."
Johnston scored a short-handed, empty-net goal for the 4-2 final at 19:51.
New Jersey captain Nico Hischier played 20:15 and went 18-for-27 on face-offs in his return to the lineup after missing the past six games because of an oblique injury.
"It wasn't a bad game at all," Hischier said. "We made a mistake, they made us pay. We took a penalty, they made us pay. Against a team like that, it's never a good idea to go down 2-0. We stuck to our game plan, competed really hard but the goals didn't come in the first and second periods.
"If we build on that moving forward, we're going to win more games than we lose."
NOTES: Dallas has earned points in eight of their past 11 games against New Jersey (7-3-1) and has won five straight at Prudential Center dating to 2022. ... Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin had three blocked shots in 19:07 of ice time in his return to the lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. … Oettinger, who represented the U.S. at the 4 Nations Face-Off, will start at the New York Islanders on Sunday. ... Bratt extended his point streak to nine games (two goals, 12 assists).
