The New Jersey Devils defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 on Thursday night at the Prudential Center. The Devils have struggled at home this season, and coming off the western Canadian road trip, they put together a rounded effort to earn two points. With the win, the Devils improved to 9-5-2, while the Canadiens fell to 4-8-2 and lost their 5th consecutive contest.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils kicked off the scoring early with a beautiful stickhandling play by Jack Hughes to set up Jesper Bratt for a tap-in goal at 1:33. Dougie Hamilton added a secondary assist.
New Jersey got tagged with an early tripping penalty, but they successfully killed it without allowing a shot on Jacob Markstrom.
The Devils added to their lead at 12:38 with Ondrej Palat’s second goal of the season. Jack Hughes tallied his second primary assist in the period.
New Jersey finished the period with just under a minute remaining of a power play.
The Devils outshot the Canadiens 8-7 in the opening frame.
Period Two
Following a turnover, Montreal got on the board at 5:00 with a shot from Alex Newhook that snuck through Markstrom. Jake Evans and Jayden Struble had the assists.
The Devils regained their two-goal lead with Jonas Siegenthaler’s first goal of the season at 10:20. Paul Cotter made a soccer-style kicking play to get the puck off the wall to Erik Haula, who connected with Siegenthaler.
The Canadiens pulled within one with just 58 seconds remaining in the second. Brendan Gallagher got to a rebound and chipped it past Markstrom. Josh Anderson and Christian Dvorak tallied the assists.
New Jersey outshot Montreal 9-8 in the period.
Period Three
Jack Hughes continued his fantastic play with a goal at 6:23 for his third point of the night. Bratt tallied the lone assist thanks to his perfectly executed backhanded pass that found Hughes racing toward the net.
The Canadiens got within one again after the Devils went for an untimely line change, leaving Newhook on a partial breakaway. Newhook’s shot deflected in off Hamilton’s stick at 8:13. Kaiden Guhle had the assist.
New Jersey got another power play opportunity but couldn’t get anything past Sam Montembeault.
The game was chippy in the final minutes of play, and the Devils fought through late pressure from a desperate Canadiens team to keep the one-goal lead.
Bratt hit the empty net at 19:34 to secure the win for New Jersey.
The Devils outshot the Canadiens 27-24 in the game.
Takeaways
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt each had excellent showings against the Canadiens, tallying three points apiece. From the start, Hughes was on his game, racking up two primary assists in the first period alone. He also notched what would be the game-winning goal for New Jersey to kick off the third-period scoring.
Additionally, Sheldon Keefe employed Jack Hughes defensively on the penalty kill and while the Canadiens had the goalie pulled in favor of an extra attacker. Hughes is rightfully known for his superstar offensive talent, but it shouldn’t be a surprise that he can be an asset in the Devils’ defensive zone, too. He has elite vision and can anticipate plays by the opposition as well as he can create plays of his own.
Bratt also had a three-point performance that consisted of two goals and an assist. Bratt had been struggling to find the back of the net to start the year but looks to have found his groove, with three goals in the past two games, including his first multi-goal game of the year against the Canadiens.
Road Mentality
Dating back to last season, the Devils established a trend of strong road performances but weak showings at the Prudential Center. Keefe stated that the team’s mentality is different at home versus the road.
“It’s almost like we have to prove something on home ice. But we really just have to go out and be who we are. Do the things we’ve done really well, embrace that,” he said.
New Jersey’s performance against Montreal was a step in the right direction. It wasn’t perfect, but the Devils played a simpler brand of hockey, especially in their defensive end, which limited dangerous chances. Johnathan Kovacevic and Siegenthaler, in particular, were excellent on the back end for New Jersey. Kurtis MacDermid also had a positive impact, with a team-leading three blocked shots.
Up Next
The Devils are back in action on Saturday night when they take on the New York Islanders in a divisional showdown on Long Island.
The Islanders sit 5th in the Metropolitan division with a 6-6-2 record. They’re coming off a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
This is the second meeting of the season between the Devils and Islanders. On October 25th, New York won the first contest 3-2 in overtime.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on MSGSN and MSGSN2.
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