Introduction
The New Jersey Devils picked up a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens in their first preseason game on Monday night. It was an encouraging night for the Devils who are just over two weeks out from their October 13 regular-season opener in Philadelphia.
Roughly half of New Jersey’s “regulars” were in the lineup with the Ondrej Palat, Jack Hughes, and Alexander Holtz line as well as Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler being some of the notable exceptions. Mackenzie Blackwood and Nico Daws shared the net with Tomas Tatar and Graeme Clarke lighting the lamp for New Jersey.
Game Summary
Early on, the Devils controlled the play at five-on-five. In the first period, New Jersey posted at 65.22 Corsi-for percentage (CF%), per NaturalStatTrick, meaning that as a team, just over 65% of the shot attempts were in the Devils’ favor at even strength. New Jersey also owned all eight of the high-danger chances at even strength.
However, the Devils did take two minor penalties in the opening frame and Montreal opened the scoring. Cole Caulfield ripped a one-timer from the left circle past Mackenzie Blackwood to give Montreal the lead with 7:28 to go before intermission. The Devils could not equalize, but outshot Montreal 11-8 in the first period.
The second period started out on a worrying note for the Devils when Nico Hischier did not return to the ice. The captain was held out of the rest of the game as a precaution due to cramps. So, no need to fret.
Meanwhile, Montreal began to control the play for an extended stretch, pinning the Kevin Bahl and Nikita Okhotiuk pairing in the defensive zone for nearly three minutes. Though, the Habs could not solve Blackwood. After a Tyce Thompson high-sticking penalty midway through the frame, Montreal went back to the man-advantage, but Blackwood stood tall. The 25-year old made a pair of big saves from the slot. Blackwood was then replaced by Nico Daws after roughly 32 minutes of action, saving 15-of-16 shots against.
After Daws entered the contest, play swung back in the Devils’ favor. New Jersey went back to the powerplay and capitalized thanks to a slick play from Jesper Bratt. The Swede created space in the corner with some nifty edgework before sliding the puck to Tomas Tatar in the slot. Tatar buried the shot against his former team to level the score at one.
New Jersey once again dominated at even strength in the third period. The Devils’ CF% as a team was 78.95% at five-on-five with NJ once again owning each high danger chance, this time with seven. Late in the period, all that pressure paid off, as Graeme Clarke deflected home a loose puck off his skate to give the Devils their first lead with six minutes to go.
Montreal answered immediately with a Rem Pitlick deflection, but Lindy Ruff successfully challenged for an obvious missed offsides. Montreal went to the power play with 2:47 remaining after a Nolan Foote trip, but the Devils’ penalty kill blocked enough shots to get the kill. In the final 20 seconds, Daws and the New Jersey defense survived one final Montreal flurry to preserve the 2-1 victory.
Wrap Up
Five players registered points in the win for New Jersey. Tatar and Clarke tallied goals while Bratt, Johnsson, and Boqvist all picked up assists. The only ice-time concern was Hischier only playing 6:24, but his exit was precautionary and should not impact his moving forward. Mackenzie Blackwood made 15-of-16 saves in 31:29. Meanwhile, Nico Daws was a perfect 5-for-5 in 28:21 of ice time, earning the win. Cayden Primeau got the loss for Montreal, allowing two goals on 13 shots after Jake Allen stopped all 15 pucks he faced.
On special teams, the Devils power play was 1-for-4 and the penalty kill was 4-for-5.
Game Notes
- The Devils played exceptionally well at even strength. For the game, New Jersey had a CF% of 64.79% at even strength including 16 of the 17 high danger chances. In terms of expected goals, the Devils were expected to beat the Canadiens 2.48-0.76 at even strength. The Devils heavily tilted the ice throughout the bulk of the contest and were deserved winners.
- Watching the game, Brian Halonen seemed to consistently find himself in good areas, and his possession metrics back that up. Halonen had the highest CF% on the team with 81.25% at even strength. His relative CF% was 21.25%, meaning the Devils’ CF% as a team was over 21% better when Halonen was on the ice. The Michigan Tech alum also paced New Jersey with a 91.74% expected goals percentage at even strength.
- Defenseman Topias Vilen also had a strong game. The 2021 fifth-round pick posted a 76.47% CF%, the fourth-highest mark on the team.
- One Devil who had a rough night was Nikita Okhotiuk. The Russian defenseman had the second-worst relative CF% at -22.34%. On a night New Jersey dominated five-on-five, some of Montreal’s best shifts came against Okhotiuk. That includes the shift in the second period where Okhotiuk was pinned in his own zone for nearly three minutes. With the former 2019 second-round pick competing for one of the final roster spots, his play will need to improve to crack the opening night roster.
- Last season, goaltending consistently let the Devils down, but not tonight. The Blackwood and Daws tandem saved 0.68 goals above expected in all situations. This was crucial in a one-goal victory. Blackwood especially rebounded from a poor 2021-2022 campaign, saving 0.21 goals above expected in all situations. Blackwood also saved 0.55 goals above expected at even strength. After the game, he mentioned feeling healthier and more confident in net, per Amanda Stein.
What’s Next
The Devils take on the New York Islanders next at the Prudential Center Tuesday night. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be shown on MSG Networks.