Game Summary
It took three periods, an overtime period, a shootout, and an (unofficial) Jack Hughes’ hatrick, but the New Jersey Devils pulled out a heart-pounder of a win against the Montreal Canadiens last night. It was an exciting affair from start to finish, with numerous odd-man rushes, breakaways, and post-ringers. Despite all these opportunities, the goaltending was strong at both ends, with both netminders making great saves. Overall, it was a fun one to watch.
First Period
The Canadiens started the action just a few seconds in with a grade-A chance on the Devils’ net, but Nico Daws stood tall, directing the puck out of play. After that, it was New Jersey’s period; they dominated the possession metrics with a 68.29 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 64.26 expected-goals percentage (xG%). Surprisingly, the Devils only scored one goal in the first frame, a Jack Hughes’ snipe off a bad play by Canadien goaltender Sam Montembeault.
Second Period
The teams were evenly matched in the second period, with both scoring a goal to make the game 2-1. The Devils’ goal came off a particularly sweet play by Hughes, his second of the night. The analytics told a different story, however, as Montreal bested the Devils with a 64.71 CF% and a 61.92 xG%. Despite this, the Devils escaped the period up by a goal.
Third Period
The Devils were dominant again in the third, but the teams exchanged only chances for most of the third. That changed when, after an empty-net shot attempt by Damon Severson that went just wide, the Canadiens scored with under a minute to go to tie the game. It looked like the Devils had it in the bag, but would be forced to go to overtime.
Overtime
The overtime period was an absolute thriller, with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt coming oh-so-close to sending the Devils home a win. Later, Mike Hoffman, along with everyone in the arena, thought he had won it for Montreal. However, just as fans were ready to leave the Rock, the refs called a no-goal, the puck had bounced off both posts but did not enter the net. With that, the teams prepared for a shootout.
The shootout turned out to be a nail-biter, going into the seventh round. Daws was touch-and-go in the shootout but snuffed out the final Canadien attempt to secure the win. Jesper Bratt, Dougie Hamilton, Yegor Sharangovich, and Jack Hughes scored the Devils’ goals in the shootout.
Results
This game had some of everything: great chances, electrifying plays, and good goaltending. This was a game the Devils will want to repeat in the future.
With last night’s win, the Devils now own a record of 24-37-5 and sit in eighth place in the Metropolitan Division. The Canadiens, on the other hand, hold a record of 18-37-11 and are in last place in the Atlantic Division.
Game Notes
Wood’s Unexpected Return
Miles Wood has been inching towards a return from his season-long injury for a few weeks now but was not expected to hit the ice until sometime next week. That went out the window early yesterday when head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed Wood’s return. Wood didn’t put up any points in the limited time he received, but he certainly passed the eye test. Dazzling with his speed and getting into a few scrums. Wood will look to bolster the Devils’ odds down the home stretch of this season.
Daws Gets Back on Track
One bright spot in yesterday’s outing was the solid play of Devils goalie Nico Daws. The young German stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced for a save- percentage (SV%) of .939. Additionally, while he didn’t perform to expectations in the shootout, he kept New Jersey in it with some timely saves.
Daws has had a rough stretch as of late posting a .852 SV% over his last five games before tonight. He has played in most of the games since he came up from the AHL, so a bad streak like this is to be expected. Hopefully, Daws will use this game as momentum, but could probably use some time in the AHL.
Up Next
The Devils and Bruins will face off on Thursday at 7:00 PM EDT.