The New Jersey Devils rode into Wednesday night’s matchup against the Minnesota Wild on a high they hadn’t experienced in quite some time: their first five-game heater in over 1,000 days. The task was tall, but they continued it on, grabbing a sixth straight victory by playing a near-perfect 60 minutes to win 4-1.
Related: Devils Win 6th Straight Game with 4-1 Victory Over Wild
Arseny Gritsyuk’s First NHL Goal
If you’ve watched any of the past few Devils games, you would have guessed that based on his play, Arseny Gritsyuk‘s first NHL goal was coming very soon. Just three seconds into a Devils’ third period power play, he fired a quick shot through Filip Gustavsson. Luke Hughes made sure to grab the puck so Gritsyuk will have the keepsake for the rest of his life. The Prudential Center went nuts for the fan favorite when they announced his goal.
Arseny Gritsyuk buries his first NHL goal on the power play! 💪 pic.twitter.com/b4cyE60L4Y
— NHL (@NHL) October 23, 2025
“A lot more are going to come for him,” said forward Dawson Mercer. “I played [with] black tape, and then I saw he had black tape, so I was happy when that one went in,” he added with a laugh.
Keefe said, “This is just a complete hockey player. He’s sound defensively, he works hard, he’s strong, good in possession, smart, makes really good reads. He’s a really good and useful player for us on a day like today [with Cody Glass out], you can elevate him. He’s brought a lot to our lower lines, so great to see him get rewarded and score a goal.”
Improvement with Back-to-Back Struggles
During the past two seasons, the Devils had immensely struggled on the latter half of back-to-backs — to the tune of a 6-19-3 record. They often admitted it was a mental block.
According to a 2024 ESPN article, the league-wide points percentage on the second half of a back-to-back is still .507%. There shouldn’t be nearly as large of a discrepancy as there has been for the Devils in recent seasons (.268%). Thus, it’s huge that the Devils immediately got started on the right foot, especially against a tough Wild team.
“It’s a back-to-back. [Minnesota] knows that and they’re probably going to think it’s an easy one coming in here,” said forward Paul Cotter. “And I think we were just a little more prepared than they thought. You know, when we stick to our game like that, it’s hard to beat us.”
In 2022-23, the Devils were a much better 9-3-0 on the tail end of those sets. It’s a big ask, but if they can come even close to replicating that, they should be fighting for first in the Metro.
Nico Daws Shines
The Devils are going to have to lean on Jake Allen heavily in the near future. In the meantime, the team is hoping that Nico Daws can take some of the load off their veteran netminder until Markstrom’s return from injury.
Tonight, in Daws’ first start of the season, he stopped 29 of 30 (.967%) for +2.03 goals above expected (via MoneyPuck), bringing his total since last season to +1.30 per 60 in 322 minutes of play.
Obviously, it’s a small sample, but no regular goalie in the league last season (15+ games) had a mark higher than +0.78 per 60 (Anthony Stolarz, Toronto). Last season was peculiar: Daws posted way better numbers in the NHL than the American Hockey League (AHL). The Devils certainly won’t complain if that’s the case again.
“I don’t know enough firsthand of what goes on at the AHL level there, but he’s done a nice job here,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe. “I think our guys have done a good job of kind of simplifying the game (…) which perhaps suits him, and it’s more structured. The guys have defended him well, but at the same time between tonight and last season, I can recall numerous times where we have breakdowns and he’s got to come up with a big save in a key moment, and he’s done that. So I’m obviously most concerned about what happens when he’s here and in our net, and he’s done a good job.”
Wagon Status?
Their win tonight marks the team’s first six game heater since their miraculous 13-game stretch in 2022 that spanned from Oct. 25-Nov. 21…1,066 days ago. It’s probably time to say this officially cements the Devils as a wagon…but even if you don’t want to go that far, it’s putting them in a much better spot for long-term success in 2025-26.
Moving Forward
The Devils will look to extend the streak on Friday night (Oct. 24) as they face the league-worst San Jose Sharks (7:00 PM EDT).
