New Jersey Devils and Utah Mammoth played out a 1:1 draw in their NHL fixture on Tuesday evening. The result leaves both sides with zero points in the standings, which tells us very little at this stage of the campaign.
We had tipped the visitors to win, 47 per cent confidence. The match had other ideas. Mammoth came in on a run — four wins in five games — but could not hold their shape. Devils, meanwhile, had just survived a 6:0 hammering from New York Islanders and showed up to play.
The Mammoth have the deeper squad on paper, but depth means nothing when you cannot keep your passing game together. They scored first, or so it seemed, then let the Devils back into it without much pressure. By then the momentum had shifted, and the visitors simply ran out of legs.
New Jersey's recent results tell a mixed story. They beat Philadelphia 3:2 and Columbus 4:1, but also lost to Rangers 3:4 and 4:5. The winless record suggests this is a side still finding its feet, not a team ready to dominate anyone.
And here's the thing — the draw brought them together early in the standings. Both teams sit outside the top half, but neither has played enough to be judged. The Mammoth sit seventh with three games, the Devils fourteenth with two. That is not a gap, it is a coincidence.
Our prediction missed because we underestimated how quickly a team can unravel after a heavy defeat. Devils had lost 6:0 on Sunday and came out wanting to prove something. Mammoth had won four straight but forgot to defend properly. The result is a point each, and that is all there is to say about it.
