Devils 5, Stars 1: Hellebuyck's First Night in Red

October 27, 2026 - Dallas - Four days after the trade, Connor Hellebuyck was in a Devils sweater in a building that had allowed 1.68 goals a night. Nico Hischier scored at 2:41. He scored again 38 seconds into the second. American Airlines Center never found a way to make the debut look hard.

The New Jersey Devils beat the Dallas Stars 5-1. New Jersey is 8-4-0, four in a row and 6-1-0 in its last seven. Dallas is 7-4-1, a five-game winning streak gone. Shots were 27-18 New Jersey. Justin Hryckowian, Lian Bichsel, Kyle Capobianco, Johnathan Kovacevic, Tyler Myers, and Colin Blackwell are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

Hischier scored twice. Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist. Luke Hughes had a goal and an assist. Jesper Boqvist scored. Hellebuyck stopped 17 of 18. The Associated Press recap listed 16 saves on 17 shots. The NHL gamecenter file is 17 on 18. That is the line we scored. Hryckowian scored. Casey DeSmith stopped 22 of 27.

Two from the captain before Dallas found a shot that counted

Hischier opened it on a 2-on-1 with Timo Meier. He kept it, cut around a diving Bichsel, waited out DeSmith, and snapped it from the bottom of the left circle. Helpers from Luke Evangelista and Kovacevic. Dallas challenged for goaltender interference on Meier. The Associated Press recap said the challenge was denied.

Hischier told NHL.com Meier sprinted through, which is hard for a goalie to defend, and that sprint opened the cut to the middle. Then Meier stopped in front, so Hischier could take it a little further.

The second one came 38 seconds into the second. Meier dropped it. Hischier one-timed from the top of the left circle, glove side. 2-0.

Boqvist made it 3-0 at 11:45. Jack Hughes sent a no-look pass above the right circle. Boqvist buried the far side. Arseny Gritsyuk had the other assist. Kovacevic told NHL.com they knew Dallas was a great home team and a great defensive team, and that this was a big challenge.

Twenty-eight seconds, then the Hughes brothers closed it

Hryckowian redirected Tyler Myers' point shot along the ice at 16:08. Colin Blackwell had the other assist. Myers and Blackwell are not seeded. 3-1.

Luke Hughes answered 28 seconds later. Wrist shot from the top of the right circle after he skated across the blue line. Dougie Hamilton and Anthony Mantha on the play. 4-1.

Jack Hughes beat DeSmith glove side at 13:15 of the third from Brett Pesce and Jesper Bratt. 5-1. The NHL recap said it was his first even-strength goal of the season.

Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan called it the team's worst game of the season, per NHL.com, and said they did not win a battle all night. Captain Jamie Benn told NHL.com they could not get anything going. Credit to them.

Hellebuyck, acquired Friday from Winnipeg for Dawson Mercer, Nick Bjugstad, Nico Daws, the rights to Alexander Command, a 2029 second-round pick, and a 2027 seventh, had been suspended since Sept. 16 for not reporting. Tuesday was his season debut. He told NHL.com that if you asked him, he was ready two months ago, and that the guys in front of him played a perfect game for getting acclimated: a low shot total, blocks, pucks to the outside.

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe told NHL.com Hellebuyck was exceptional, and that New Jersey gave up the slot a little too easily at times. Capobianco left at 4:47 of the third after a collision with Meier. Gulutzan said he was still being evaluated for an apparent leg injury.

Dallas's penalty kill went 3-for-3, 22 straight kills over six games, the Associated Press recap said. It did not matter. The five goals were a season high against a club that entered leading the NHL in goals against.

AthX Engine on a 5-1 that paid the club card

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Hischier at 10.30 (two goals, three shots, one block). Jack Hughes is 10.10. Luke Hughes is 7.70. Boqvist is 6.20. Hryckowian is 6.10. Hellebuyck's win, 17 saves, and one goal against land at 8.60. DeSmith is 2.80 on 22 saves.

New Jersey's team line is 22.00. Dallas is 0.00.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Vezina winner in a new sweater, and for a Stars group that had not lost in five. They are not the same number.

Track Hellebuyck, Hischier, Jack Hughes, and both clubs on the marketplace. New Jersey visits Colorado on Wednesday. Montreal visits Dallas on Thursday.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020193. Information only; not financial advice.*