Markstrom stifles Mammoth as Devils defeat Utah 4-1

NEWARK, NJ — Coming off a seven-goal performance in the team's previous game, the Mammoth were not able to replicate that success Saturday. Instead, the team put together a sloppy performance in New Jersey in a loss.

Utah's offense was shut down Saturday against the Devils, who won their first home game since Dec. 13 with the 4-1 result over the Mammoth. With the win, the Devils remain a perfect 4-0 against Utah since the franchise moved from Arizona.

Jacob Markstrom had another strong performance against the Mammoth, making 30 saves after he went 32-of-33 in New Jersey's road win against Utah in December. Jack Hughes and Brett Pesce each recorded two assists for New Jersey.

"It's a team with a tight gap, and we tried to play in front of them and we paid for it," Utah head coach Andre Tourigny said. "The thing we could have done better is more traffic at the net. We were a little bit light in front of their net. Markstrom played good, but he saw most of the shots so we could have done a much better job."

Jesper Bratt scored the first goal for the Devils when he received the puck behind the net after Brett Pesce's shot missed the net and hit the boards. As it bounced off the boards, Bratt took the puck and wrapped it around the net for the score.

A giveaway by the Mammoth a couple minutes later allowed Dawson Mercer to find Timo Meier, who added onto New Jersey's lead after his snapshot zipped past Vejmelka. The goal was Meier's 12th goal of the season.

Utah gained some life after a slashing penalty was called on defenseman Luke Highes, giving them their first man advantage of the game. The Mammoth had some good shot opportunities to get on the board, but Markstrom turned them away.

After going two-for-five on the power play on Thursday, Utah struggled on the man advantage in Saturday's game.

The Devils continued to pour it on in the second period after going three power plays in the period. The Mammoth held New Jersey to just one goal on the man advantage but constantly being at a disadvantage prevented Utah from getting things going offensively.

A two-man advantage allowed the Devils to keep the pressure on the Mammoth defense and Nico Hischier capitalized as he tipped in a goal on Jack Hughes' shot to give the Devils a three-goal lead.

It was the second straight game with a power play goal for the New Jersey captain, Hischier.

Soon after, Dougie Hamilton got in on the scoring action as he netted his first goal in 27 games after controlling the puck off the faceoff in Utah's zone.

The Mammoth finally ended Markstrom's shutout bid late in the third period. As Utah's second power play was ending, Michael Carcone scored the team's only goal after his one timer found the back of the net. Carcone patiently waited for Barrett Hayton's pass with the Devils' defense still looking to get set after the penalty kill.

The Mammoth will wrap up their road trip at Madison Square Garden on Monday when they face off against the New York Rangers.

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