Las Vegas, NV— Former Devil Akira Schmid blanked his old club on Friday night, stopping all 24 shots he faced as the Vegas Golden Knights earned a 3–0 victory over New Jersey at T-Mobile Arena.
Schmid, who spent three seasons in New Jersey before being traded to Vegas in June, recorded his third career shutout and second of the year. The win also gave the Golden Knights their third straight victory, bouncing back from a four-game slide.
Shea Theodore led the offense with a goal and an assist, while Tomas Hertl and Ivan Barbashev added third-period tallies. Jack Eichel finished with two assists.
New Jersey wrapped up a winless four-game homestand with the loss and was shut out for the second time in a row after a 3–0 defeat to Dallas on Wednesday. Jacob Markstrom matched Schmid with 24 saves, but the Devils never found a way onto the scoresheet.
Knights strike late in the first
Vegas carried the early play, holding a 13–5 shot advantage in the opening period. With the clock ticking down, Theodore stepped into a feed from Eichel and ripped a shot from the right circle with 13 seconds remaining, giving the Golden Knights a 1–0 lead after one.
Devils miss chances on the power play
The middle frame was tighter, with New Jersey outshooting Vegas 11–7, but neither side broke through.
The third period brought the first penalties of the night. Brandon Saad was called for tripping early, though the Devils generated only a single shot during the power play. A delay-of-game call on Noah Hanifin led to another man-advantage, but New Jersey failed to record a shot.
Vegas pulls away late
Seconds after the Hanifin penalty expired, the Golden Knights went on their own power play when Nico Hischier was whistled for hooking. Hertl converted, deflecting a Mitch Marner one-timer past Markstrom for his team-leading 12th goal with 4:26 to play.
With Hischier back in the box in the final minutes, Barbashev sealed the game by burying a rebound off an Eichel shot that rang off the left post with 1:24 remaining.
Up Next:
Golden Knights: at New York Rangers on Sunday night
Devils: at Boston on Saturday night
