Devils Postgame
Devils Bounce Back; Jake Allen Shuts Out Canadiens in Final Game Before Four Nations Break
The New Jersey Devils, led by Jake Allen, bounced back with an impressive shutout win against the Montreal Canadiens, 4-0.
Back at the scene of the crime of Nico Hischier’s injury, the still undermanned New Jersey Devils faced off against the Montreal Canadiens in the final game before the Four Nations Face-Off break.
After a dreadful performance against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, the Devils were able to string together a few strong shifts early on.
The Devils showed significant improvement in their game early on and were awarded for it. Strong puck pressure and forechecking from the fourth line kept the Canadiens pinned in deep. Dougie Hamilton got a puck in deep, and Tomas Tatar was able to sweep it out to the high slot, finding Jesper Bratt, who wired it past Sam Montembeault at the 13:43 mark of the first period.
After failing to double their lead on the power play, Montreal’s Cole Caufield had a point-blank shot saved by Jake Allen after a poor turnover by Dawson Mercer.
A night-and-day difference from the other night and a strong start had the Devils up 1-0 after the first period, with shots tied eight apiece.
The Devils killed an early penalty to start the second period and got a handful of huge saves from Allen, including a breakaway attempt on Josh Anderson. Montreal owned the second period shots advantage 9-2 halfway through the period.
Despite Montreal’s domination for most of the second, it was the Devils who doubled their lead. Another marathon shift by the bottom six led to Jack Hughes coming on and making a falling pass to Bratt in the high-slot. Bratt’s shot on goal fell to Paul Cotter at the edge of the crease, who cleaned up the rebound to beat Montembeault and make it a 2-0 game.
Montreal controlled the pace of play for most of the second period, but the Devils were occasionally able to maintain puck possession in the offensive zone. Despite being outshot 14-6 for the period and 22-15 for the game, the Devils exited the second period up 2-0.
The Devils started the third period with 1:53 remaining on a Johnathan Kovacevic hooking penalty. A terrific kill led to Brett Pesce shoveling the puck forward to Jack Hughes, who raced up the ice with Bratt on a two-on-one. Hughes looked off Bratt and wired a wrist shot top shelf to beat Montembeault high blocker and give the Devils a 3-0 lead.
The Devils and the Hughes’s weren’t done yet. A Timo Meier cross-crease pass ricochets off the boards and finds Luke Hughes, who walks into a slap shot and beats Montembeault clean, giving the Devils a commanding 4-0 lead.
Owen Beck was awarded a penalty shot with just 15 seconds left on the clock, but Allen stood tall to secure the shutout.
The Devils were able to kill off the rest of the game and collect two massive points heading into the Four Nations break.
Allen made 34/34 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, as the Devils defeated the Canadiens 4-0
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