Schmaltz has three points, pushes goal streak to four, Mammoth hold off Devils
Sergachev leaves with injury for Utah; Evangelista scores first two with New Jersey
By Mike G. Morreale
NHL.com Senior Draft Writer
NEWARK, N.J. -- Nick Schmaltz had a goal and two assists to extend his season-opening goal streak to four games for the Utah Mammoth in a 5-3 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.
Schmaltz has seven points and leads the NHL with five goals this season.
"I think when our power play is clicking like it has, I'm getting a ton of looks, so credit to the guys," Schmaltz said. "I'm just trying to find spots and they're finding me and they're going in right now."
Mikhail Sergachev had three assists, Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist, and Karel Vejmelka made 30 saves in his second straight start for Utah (3-1-0), which won its first in five tries against New Jersey since entering the NHL in 2024-25.
"It was nice to get one against these guys," Schmaltz said. "We hadn't beaten them since we moved to Utah, so it was nice to kind of break that curse."
Luke Evangelista scored two goals, and Jake Allen made 26 saves for the Devils (1-2-0), who have lost two straight.
"At the end of the day, I'm just trying to contribute to wins for this team," Evangelista said. "Obviously it was nice to get the first one there. It (stinks) we didn't get a win out of it, but you always want to do your part."
Utah was 2-for-4 on the power play and is 8-for-13 this season.
"We don't settle for possession," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. "We attack and we have a lot of guys who can think quickly. When we attack the way we attack, now we bring the game at a pace where you need to think really quickly and our guys can do that."
Said Schmaltz: "We're getting pucks back and we're hemming teams in. I think if you get a minute into a penalty kill, they get exhausted and then we start picking them apart. We got a ton of skill, but I think our recoveries are huge. If you can get a shot on net, get the puck back and just kind of keep wearing them down, eventually something's going to break down for them."
Keller gave the Mammoth a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 1:57 of the first period on a one-timer from the right circle.
Evangelista scored his first goal with the Devils when he deflected a puck from the slot on a 5-on-3 power play at 12:23. The forward was traded to the Devils from the Nashville Predators on Sept. 1.
"At times, we executed our structure well and at times we didn't," Evangelista said.
MacKenzie Weegar responded for Utah at 1:42 of the second period to make it 2-1, banking a puck off the right pad of Allen.
Evangelista scored his second of the game on a waist-high deflection from the slot at 6:31 to make it 2-2.
Schmaltz put Utah back in front 3-2 at 12:05 on the power play, scoring with a snap shot from just outside the left post.
"He can play with a left-hand stick right now and I will still take him on my team," Tourigny said of Schmaltz. "He's so good everywhere on the ice. Defensively, offensively, as a non-killer, as a puck-carrier ... what a player."
Lawson Crouse pushed it to 4-2 at 19:03, cleaning up a loose puck at the left post.
Jesper Boqvist scored on a backhand from the slot in his season debut at 9:49 of the third period to pull New Jersey within 4-3.
Vincent Trocheck scored off a centering pass from Schmaltz down the slot at 16:52 of the third for the 5-3 final. It was the forward’s first goal with Utah after being traded from the New York Rangers on July 1.
"We weren't clean coming out of our zone," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "The goals against, they weren't even structure-related but habit-related. Stopping the puck, don't expose good ice, don't get beat back to your net. Very fundamental things that we just have to do a better job of."
NOTES: Tourigny had no update on Sergachev, who left the game with 29 seconds left in the second period after he took a puck to his left ear on a clearing attempt by Weegar. ... Keller extended his season-opening point streak to four games (one goal, six assists). ... Keefe had no update on defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who sustained a lower-body injury after falling awkwardly at 3:50 of the third period and left the game.
