Connor Hellebuyck makes Devils debut, New Jersey tops Dallas Stars 5-1 at American Airlines Center

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

New Jersey opened its home ice matchup with Dallas at American Airlines Center with a complete effort in its 5-1 victory, powered by Connor Hellebuyck’s first game with the Devils. Hellebuyck turned aside 16 shots in his debut and helped New Jersey hand the Stars their first loss after a five-game winning streak ended.

The game also marked a delayed start for Hellebuyck’s Devils season, with the source noting he was scheduled to return after a suspension that began on Sept. 16. Because of an impasse with Winnipeg, Tuesday served as both his season debut and his first appearance for New Jersey in the matchup against Dallas.

New Jersey built the lead early, with Nico Hischier scoring at 2:41 of the first period. The source describes a 2-on-1 rush involving Hischier and Timo Meier, with Hischier finishing by cutting around Lian Bichsel and outwaiting Dallas goaltender DeSmith while snapping a shot into an open net.

Hischier extended the advantage just 38 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0. The source says Hischier one-timed a drop pass from Meier from the top of the left circle past DeSmith, converting quickly after New Jersey’s first-period breakthrough.

Jesper Boqvist then pushed the Devils’ lead to 3-0 at 11:45 of the second period. As detailed in the recap, Jack Hughes delivered a no-look pass to Boqvist above the right circle, and Boqvist finished with a shot into the far side of the net.

Dallas responded at 16:08 of the second period when Justin Hryckowian scored to cut the deficit to 3-1. The goal came by way of a redirection of Tyler Myers’ point shot along the ice, according to the source.

Luke Hughes answered for New Jersey 28 seconds later, restoring the three-goal margin at 4-1. The source credits Luke Hughes with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle after skating across the blue line.

The Stars added a second goal attempt later in the game but could not erase the multi-goal deficit. In the third period, Jack Hughes scored the decisive fifth goal for the Devils at 13:15, beating DeSmith blocker side to set the final score at 5-1.

In the between-games context, the recap identifies the roster and transaction background behind the Devils’ new goaltending situation. New Jersey acquired Hellebuyck in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, receiving forward Dawson Mercer and forward Nick Bjugstad, goalie Nico Daws, the rights to forward Alexander Command, a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft, and a seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

With the win, New Jersey improved to 8-4-0 and extended its momentum, as the source says the Devils won four straight and are 6-1-0 in their past seven games. Dallas, meanwhile, saw its five-game winning streak end and dropped to 7-4-1, with DeSmith making 22 saves in the loss and Hryckowian accounting for the Stars’ only goals of the night beyond the early drive from the Devils.

Both teams’ key contributors reflected the scoring spread from New Jersey’s top players. The Devils’ goals were attributed to Hischier (two), Jack Hughes (one), Luke Hughes (one), Boqvist (one), and the Stars’ lone goal scorers were Hryckowian, with DeSmith finishing with 22 saves for Dallas and Hellebuyck collecting 16 saves in his debut.