Game Preview: Devils at Canadiens

Jake Allen and the Montreal Canadiens (3-1-1) defeated the young Buffalo Sabres, claiming their third victory of 2023-24 on Monday night. Montreal is tasked with facing former Canadien Tyler Toffoli and the New Jersey Devils (2-1-1) on the second night of a back-to-back. Following three days off from game action, let’s dive into what’s ahead for the Devils at the Canadiens Bell Centre.

Time: 7:15 PM      Watch: MSGSN 2/MSG+      Listen: DEVILS HOCKEY NET

Projected Devils Lineup

Ondrej Palat-Nico Hischier-Jesper Bratt

Tyler Toffoli-Jack Hughes-Timo Meier

Dawson Mercer-Erik Haula-Alexander Holtz

Curtis Lazar-Michael McLeod-Nathan Bastian

Jonas Siegenthaler-Dougie Hamilton

Kevin Bahl-John Marino

Brendan Smith-Luke Hughes

Vitek Vanecek

Akira Schmid

Projected Canadiens Lineup

Cole Caufield-Nick Suzuki-Raphael Harvey-Pinard

Josh Anderson-Alex Newhook-Juraj Slafkovsky

Tanner Pearson-Sean Monahan-Brendan Gallagher

Michael Pezzetta-Jake Evans-Jesse Ylönen

Michael Matheson-David Savard

Jordan Harris-Johnathan Kovacevic

Arber Xhekaj-Justin Barron

Samuel Montembeault

Jake Allen

Last Game

The Devils took part in their first road game of the 2023-24 season making their way to Long Island to face the New York Islanders. Brock Nelson scored twice as he and Ilya Sorokin did all they could to keep the Isles as close to the Devils as possible. However, New Jersey looked much more like themselves in their fourth regular season game than they had in the previous. On the back of their franchise center, Jack Hughes scored four points (two goals and two assists) including the game-winning goal in overtime. Jesper Bratt collected three assists in the Metropolitan Division matchup. Dougie Hamilton scored his second goal of the season while Tyler Toffoli and Luke Hughes scored their firsts. The power play dominated in the 5-4 overtime victory, converting on four out of five chances. Akira Schmid made 28 saves on 32 shots.

After a rough start to the season, Timo Meier got back on track collecting two helpers skating alongside Hughes.

Player to Watch

Three out of the Devils’ first four games have been multi-point efforts from Jack Hughes. The 22-year-old forward already broke New Jersey’s franchise record for the most points to open a season through the team’s first four games collecting 10 points. Now, Hughes has a chance to break an NHL record (recorded since 2010-11) as he’s three points shy of tying, and four points shy of breaking the NHL record for the most points earned in a team’s opening five games. The current record is held by Patrick Marleau who scored 13 points in five games for the San Jose Sharks to start the 2012-13 season.

Devils vs. Canadiens

According to the Devils PR, “The Devils and Montreal face off for the first of three matchups this season, while Tuesday’s contest marks the only trip to Montreal in 2023-24:

Jan. 17, vs MTL, 7:00 P.M.
Feb. 24, vs MTL, 7:00 P.M.

New Jersey logged a 2-1-0 record vs Montreal in 2022-23.

All-Time Record vs. MTL

Record: 76-73-10-7
Home: 40-35-4-4
Road: 36-38-6-3

Did You Know…

The most goals in franchise history earned in a single game vs Montreal is eight goals, which was earned in an 8-4 win on Oct. 6, 2000, at New Jersey.

The most goals that the franchise allowed in a single game vs Montreal is nine (2 times), which was last logged on Nov. 11, 1981, after a 9-0 loss at Colorado.

The most goals that the Devils (team history) allowed vs Montreal is eight, which was last logged on Nov. 11, 1992, after an 8-3 loss at New Jersey.

The most shots that Jersey earned in a single game vs Montreal is 53, which was earned on Feb. 27, 1995, in a 6-1 win at Jersey.

The most shots that the franchise allowed in a single game vs Montreal is 59, which was on Mar. 27, 1976, in an 8-2 loss at Montreal (KCS).

The shots that the Devils (team history) in a single game vs Montreal is 49, which was recorded on Dec. 8, 2016, in a 5-2 loss at Montreal.

The last time that the Devils shut out Montreal was on Oct. 21, 2010, in a 3-0 win at Montreal (M. Brodeur, 29 saves).

The last time Montreal shut out the Devils was on Mar. 11, 2008, in a 4-0 loss at Montreal (C. Price, 30 saves).

The Devils and Montreal met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once, which was in 1996-97. The Devils eliminated the Canadiens in five games.”

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Wed. Oct. 25, vs WSH, 7:30 P.M.
Fri. Oct. 27, vs BUF, 7:00 P.M.
Sun. Oct. 29, vs MIN, 5:00 P.M. E.T.
Thu. Nov. 2, at MIN, 8:00 P.M. E.T.

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