The New Jersey Devils (22-17-3) fell 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens (19-18-7) on Wednesday night. This was the second-straight loss for the Devils who now sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division and two points out of a playoff spot.
Game Summary
First Period
Neither team created much in the early going, and it was Montreal that got the first good look. Justin Barron circled behind the net from the point, catching Nico Daws off guard on a wraparound attempt. Daws reacted late, but fought the puck off on the doorstep.
The Devils surged forward after that, though, forcing several saves out of Sam Montembeault. Maybe his best of the opening period came after Nico Hischier centered a puck to Tyler Toffoli from behind the net, but Montembeault swallowed up his one-timer.
Moments later, Timo Meier had a breakaway chance, but Montembeault denied him as well.
With the Devils on the front foot, Montreal hit back against the run of play. Cole Caufield made a nice play to center a puck out of midair, and Juraj Slafkovsky beat Daws to open the scoring with 7:13 to go in the opening frame.
Late in the period, New Jersey had the first power play of the contest after Kaiden Guhle was called for high-sticking. The Devils created a few good looks, but could not beat Montembeault.
After one, it was 1-0 Montreal. Shots were 11-10 Devils and New Jersey posted a 48.48 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 39.16 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five.
Second Period
Less than 30 seconds into the second period, the Devils went back to the power play after Mike Matheson high-sticked Nico Hischier. The best chance of the power play fell to Hischier, but he was robbed by Montembeault on a one-timer from the top of the crease.
Shortly after the penalty expired, Michael McLeod led a two-on-one with Dawson Mercer, but his pass deflected off the Canadiens’ defenseman and went the other way where Daws was forced into a good save on Brendan Gallagher in tight.
After a penalty kill, New Jersey surged forward again. First, Dawson Mercer was robbed after a nice centering feed from Timo Meier before Erik Haula was denied on a breakaway after a beauty of a stretch pass from Jesper Bratt.
However, it was once again Montreal that struck against the run of play. Sean Monahan fed Joshua Roy on a two-on-one and Roy buried his first NHL goal, making it 2-0 Canadiens with just over five minutes to go in the middle frame.
Just before the end of the period, New Jersey went back to the power play. This time it was a four minute advantage after Nick Suzuki took a double minor for high-sticking Kevin Bahl, but the Devils could not convert before the horn sounded to end the frame.
In the second period, shots were 11-7 Devils. New Jersey registered a 66.67 CF% and a 74.06 xGF% at five-on-five in the second period, but it was 2-0 Montreal after two.
Third Period
The Devils began the third period with 3:15 of carry-over power play time, and they wasted little time taking advantage.
Just 47 seconds into the period, Luke Hughes halved the deficit with a wrist shot through traffic. Hughes’ eighth of the year made it a 2-1 game, and the Devils still had two minutes on the power play after scoring during the first half of the double minor.
Then, just 51 seconds later, Alexander Holtz tied the game. The 21-year-old Swede blasted a one-timer past Montembeault from the top of the circle to level the game at two.
After the rapid-fire pair of power play goals, the game settled back down and neither team created much in terms of chances. As the clock ticked toward the final five minutes, it seemed like overtime was on the horizon.
Then, with just under five minutes to go, Nico Daws spilled a Jordan Harris shot and Cole Caufield stashed home the rebound, putting the Canadiens back in front 3-2.
New Jersey pushed for an equalizer, pulling Daws with just under two minutes remaining, but could not seriously threaten Montembeault down the stretch as Montreal held on for the 3-2 win.
In the third, shots were 8-8 while the Devils had a 59.38 CF%, but just a 40.92 xGF% at five-on-five.
Wrap-Up
For the game, shots were 30-25 in favor of the Devils. New Jersey posted a 56.47 CF% and a 51.97 xGF% at five-on-five.
In net, Nico Daws stopped 22 of 25 shots against. He allowed 0.35 goals above expected and took the loss.
Sam Montembeault earned the win for Montreal. He stopped 28 of 30 shots against and saved an impressive 1.82 goals above expected.
Game Notes
Strong Night From Hischier Line
The trio of Nico Hischier, Tyler Toffoli, and Jesper Bratt had the best night among Devils’ skaters in the loss. As a line, the three forwards played 12 minutes together at five-on-five. During that time, they posted an 86.50 xGF% and a 7-1 edge in scoring chances.
That 87.50 percentage of scoring chances easily led all Devils’ forward lines. No other line was above 60% in that category.
Fourth Line Struggles
While some of the forwards had strong nights, others were not so fortunate. The fourth line of Chris Tierney, Alexander Holtz, and Max Willman did not drive play during their five minutes of five-on-five ice time together.
As a trio, they registered a disappointing 13.30 xGF% and were out-chanced 5-3 at five-on-five. Montreal had a 3-0 edge in high-danger chances with that line on the ice for New Jersey. Those xGF% figures were the lowest among Devils’ skaters by a wide margin.
After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff was asked about why he benched that line, and particularly, Alexander Holtz, during the third period, especially after Holtz had tallied a game-tying power play goal. An irritated Ruff pointed out a play earlier in the game where a Holtz turnover after a poor pass led to a scoring chance against.
However you may feel about the decision to bench Holtz, who has looked better higher up in the lineup, the head coach was certainly not happy with that line’s performance on Wednesday night.
Mixed Night From Defensemen
Similarly to forwards, it was a mixed bag in terms of performances from Devils defensemen. On a positive note, Luke Hughes had a very strong game despite battling sickness that caused him to miss morning skate.
Hughes, who spent most of the game alongside Colin Miller, led all Devils with 23:40 of ice time and netted a power play goal. At five-on-five, Hughes paced all Devils’ defensemen with a 66.74 xGF%. He also posted a 10-5 edge in scoring chances and a 4-2 edge in high-danger chances.
However, it was not as strong of a night for Simon Nemec and John Marino. That duo was on the ice for all three goals against and posted a 31.79 and a 38.08 xGF%, respectively.
What’s Next
The Devils travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET on MSG.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick