By The Canadian Press

Devils refuse to lose once they grab the lead

Jan 21, 2026 | 2:00 AM

EDMONTON — When the New Jersey Devils get a lead, they keep the lead.

Rookie Arseny Gritsyuk and Cody Glass each had a goal and an assist as the Devils held on to edge the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Tuesday.

The Devils (26-22-2) improved to 17-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes and have won four of their last five outings, including a 2-1 overtime victory over the host Calgary Flames on Monday.

“It feels good, especially on a back-to-back going against the Oilers,” Glass said. “It’s a tough task, but I felt like we did a really good job in the first and second period. We knew the storm was going to be coming, we knew (Connor) McDavid was going to be out there for the majority of the period, so it was all about deflecting him to the outside and (goalie Jake Allen) maybe had his best period of the year, so it was awesome.”

Allen survived a barrage in the third as Edmonton outshot his crew 13-3 and he recorded 22 saves overall to earn the win in net for New Jersey.

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“He was outstanding,” said Devils coach Sheldon Keefe. “You know Edmonton was going to have a surge. I thought we managed that in the first and second period probably as close to perfect as we could have. We knew they were going to have a push and we needed to get some saves and he was outstanding.

“Jake was great. Jake was outstanding when he played in here last year, that’s why we wanted to get him back in. He clearly feels good when he plays in this building. Credit to him to stay with it and stay focused and be ready when called upon to seal the game in the third.”

Allen said it wasn’t surprising to see star forward McDavid and the Oilers put together a desperate fight to the finish.

“I think we all knew in the second intermission that they were going to have a push,” Allen said. “We knew their best player was going to play the majority of that period and it seemed like he did. We just had to find a way to get through it.

“They’re going to get their looks, that’s the reality of it, they’re a good team, they’re really good players over there, so we have to understand they’re going to have momentum, it’s just how do we get through that momentum and I thought the guys did a great job.

“We’re going to make mistakes, but I think for the most part we did a really good job and until that third period, we didn’t give them a whole lot. I’m proud of the group.”

McDavid came into the game with at least one point in all 17 of his career games against the Devils (7G, 24A), which stood as the second-longest active point streak by a player against a single opponent. However, he was held pointless on the night and the streak came to an end.

Matthew Savoie replied for the Oilers (25-18-8) who had a two-game winning streak halted, the ninth time this season they have failed to extend a winning streak to three games.

“The fact that we haven’t been able to get a little run, we want to obviously get some momentum and win some games in a row, that’s how you climb up the standings,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.

“Tonight, in the first two periods we didn’t show up. I don’t think there’s a pattern or anything to say why we’re doing that, but it definitely is frustrating.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2026.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press