The New Jersey Devils right wing Stefan Noesen (11) scores a goal past Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) in the third period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Fri Dec 19, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Daniil But scored his first NHL goal in his tenth career game, but New Jersey comes from behind to defeat Utah 2-1.

Having won two out of three on their recent road trip, the Utah Mammoth (17-16-3) returned to Delta Center on Friday night for the first of two games on a brief homestand, squaring off against the New Jersey Devils (19-14-1) who have lost seven of their last ten contests.

Making his season debut for Utah was forward Alexander Kerfoot, originally a Devils fifth round draft pick in 2012, who returned after missing 36 games following a procedure to repair a core muscle injury. In the Mammoth net was Karel Vejmelka, who entered the game leading the NHL with 15 victories.

At 9:35 of the first period, 6’5″ 20-year old Russian rookie Daniil But, who was recently called up from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, scored his first career NHL goal with a highlight-reel backhand in front of the Devils net, assisted by defenseman Sean Durzi, giving Utah a 1-0 lead.

As But celebrated his first goal, fans erupted into cheers which sounded like boos, because But’s last name is pronounced like “boot.” Among his teammates, however, But is known as “Cheeks,” a nickname bestowed by defenseman Nate Schmidt.

Utah selected But 12th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. Last season he skated in 54 games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL where he scored 9 goals and 19 assists in 54 games en route to his team winning the league’s Gagarin Cup. The Mammoth took the one-goal lead into the locker room after 20 minutes, with Vejmelka having stopped all 9 New Jersey shots.

The Devils tied things up at 11:21 of the second period when winger Connor Brown put a snap shot past Vejmelka for his ninth goal of the season, assisted by Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton. Other than that, both goaltenders held down their respective nets for the balance of the period. Through two periods of play, New Jersey goalie Jacob Markstrom saved 23 of 24 shots, and Vejmelka turned away 14 of 15.

Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev gave the Devils a power play at 3:11 of the third period for tripping against Jesper Bratt. A little more than a minute into the penalty, New Jersey forward Stefan Noesen cashed it in for his 3rd goal of the season, assisted by Hischier and Luke Hughes, to give the Devils their first lead of the game, 2-1. That goal would stand up as the game-winner as both goaltenders shut down the opposition the rest of the way.

In the Mammoth locker room, Kerfoot gave his first post-game interview of the season. “Yeah, it’s a tight game. One play kind of makes a difference, and when we score a power play goal, they score a power play goal,” Kerfoot said. “We had some looks there six-on-five to tie it up, but I thought overall, it was a pretty good hockey game, but they just made one more play than we did.” Asked how he felt in his first game back, Kerfoot said, “I’ve never gone through an injury like this. This season, I feel like more than ever, because the schedule is so condensed, we haven’t had practice time really at all. I haven’t gotten into a practice. So, my first couple shifts, it was just feeling, trying to keep it short. But overall, the game felt fast, but I felt good and felt like my touches were good when I was out there, and just got to keep building.” With regard to Daniil But’s first NHL goal, Kerfoot remarked, “Yeah, it’s great to see. Awesome moment for him. He’s a young kid who’s going to score lots of goals in this league. He’s had some looks, so it was nice for him to see one go in, and hopefully the floodgates open for him. I’ve thought that he’s been around the puck around the net, and it was just a matter of time before he got one.”

Daniil But’s excitement over his goal carried over from the ice and into the locker room. “I am not going to lie, it felt good when I scored,” But said, “but the most important thing is winning, and we lost today.” When asked what the team needs to do better moving forward, But’s answer was concise and to the point, “maybe more shots and guys in front of the net.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny opened his postgame comments by saying, “We did a lot of good stuff. Dominated scoring, chances, shots, things like that. But, at the same time, they scored a big goal on their power play, then made a mistake, and on the rebound, we had an opportunity to put the game away when we had the lead and could not score the big goal or take advantage of our opportunity. In the third, they did a good job. Give them credit. At the same time, we need to find a way to put pucks in the net, to find seams, and to create more chaos, but we could not find a way to find seams and put pucks in the net.” Talking about the goal by Cheeks, Tourigny added, “It was a matter of time. He is playing good hockey, and there was no doubt it was coming. I am happy for him; it was an important goal for us.”

Utah (17-17-3) will play the Winnipeg Jets (15-17-2) at the Delta Center on Sunday afternoon before traveling to Colorado for their last game prior to the Christmas break on Tuesday.