Thursday, the New Jersey Devils won their sixth consecutive game at home to start the year, 4-3 over the Montreal Canadiens in overtime. Timo Meier scored the late tying goal and Jesper Bratt the overtime winner. The win propels New Jersey to 10-4-0 on the season.
Recap
Period One
The Devils came out flying and got an early goal. On their first shot of the game, Cody Glass ripped the puck far side in his return to the lineup. However, just a little bit later the Canadiens would tie the game. Noah Dobson shot the puck off the chest of Kirby Dach, it then proceeded to bounce up in the air, over Jacob Markström, and in. The Devils and Canadiens both had their fair share of chances the rest of the way, but poor luck and great goaltending kept the game locked at 1-1 after one.
Period Two
New Jersey pushed hard in the second period, and about half-way through it led to a goal. Simon Nemec drove deep behind the net after taking a shot from the wall. He then took his own rebound and made a beautiful centering pass to Ondrej Palat who finished his first goal of the season. The Devils had a plethora of chances the rest of the way, but once again great goaltending and some bad luck kept New Jersey off the board even further. They led 2-1 after two.
Period Three
The third period started fast with Jake Evans sneaking the puck short side on Markström to tie the game at two. The Devils had two power plays and plenty of chances to take the lead back, but they failed. And then, with just under eight minutes to go in regulation, Oliver Kapanen gave Montreal their first lead of the game on a backhand rebound.
New Jersey pulled Markström with about two minutes to go, and a minute later, they capitalized. Timo Meier banged the puck home past Jakub Dobes to tie the game late. And so the game went to overtime.
Overtime
The Devils had a couple of great chances to kick off overtime. However, it was a beautiful strip at the far-blue line by Jesper Bratt that sprung him on the winning breakaway. Bratt went forehand-backhand to open up the five-hole and score the OT winner. The third overtime winner of his career to propel the Devils to their sixth straight home win.
Game Notes
Late-Game Comeback
The Devils had their first tying goal with the goalie pulled in almost a full calendar year. They scored two all of last year, and they came within two weeks of each other, both times against the Islanders. The second of those games was November 9, 2024. Timo’s goal was a long time coming, both for him and the team.
Dougie Down
Dougie Hamitlon left the game half way through the second period, and didn’t return. After the game when Sheldonhead coach Keefe was asked about him, the second-year Devils coach mentioned that he was being evaluated and there would be more information tomorrow. If Hamilton is out long term, Simon Nemec would be the only right-shot defenseman at the NHL level.
What’s Next
The Devils next game is at home Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 12:30 pm ET.