Game 14: Montreal Canadiens @ New Jersey Devils
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Devils region: MSGSN
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
On Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens hit the Bell Centre ice needing a win to snap a three-game losing streak. For the first twenty minutes, they played with the urgency and energy befitting their situation. Despite allowing the first goal against the run of play, the Habs summoned enough resolve to take the lead before the halfway point of the third period. Unfortunately, the night from that point on became the Matt Coronato show, and it was the Calgary Flames who emerged with the 3-2 victory after a mere seven seconds of overtime.
Sometimes, the hockey gods can be fickle. Not only did the Habs (rightfully) miss out on a third period insurance goal on an offside review, they hit five goal posts before Joel Armia put them ahead 2-1 with a shorthanded marker. The effort, at least, was laudable. The Canadiens unilaterally drove play for considerable stretches of the game, something that has been rare so far this season. Still, there was room for improvement. While Coronato’s brace stemmed from two individual efforts, the Habs did have opportunities to take the Flames out of the game before the final three minutes.
Managing quick turnarounds may be the most important part of navigating an NHL season, and the Canadiens must quickly internalize the good and learn from the bad as they head to Newark for a date with the New Jersey Devils.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Devils |
|---|---|---|
| 4-7-2 | Record | 8-5-2 |
| 45.1% (27th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 52.0% (11th) |
| 2.69 (23rd) | Goals per game | 3.53 (10th) |
| 4.00 (31st) | Goals against per game | 2.80 (7th) |
| 21.7% (11th) | PP% | 30.4% (5th) |
| 82.2% (14th) | PK% | 83.3% (9th) |
| 1-2-0 | Head-to-Head Record (’23-’24) | 2-1-0 |
Last year, the Devils were expected to build off a trip to the second-round of the playoffs from the year prior. Instead, they collapsed to a 81-point season and missed the playoffs. Much of the responsibility for this underperformance lay at the feet of their goaltending. The Devils used three netminders during the first two-thirds of the season: Akira Schmid, Vitek Vanecek, and Nico Daws. None of the trio managed a save percentage higher than .895. Former Hab Jake Allen was brought in around the Trade Deadline to facilitate the push, but couldn’t give the Devils everything that they were looking for.
During the off-season, general manager Tom Fitzgerald sought to rectify his goaltending situation by acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the Flames. The early returns have been… middling. Markstrom and Allen both sit around league average with .907 and .904 save percentages, respectively. However, that has been enough to take the team to an 8-5-2 record.
The Devils have been led by the usual suspects: captain Nico Hischier has 10 goals and 16 points in 15 games, Jesper Bratt has 15 in 15, Timo Meier has 13, and Jack Hughes has 12. Stefan Noesen is the surprise, matching Meier’s performance from the third line. Other notables include Dougie Hamilton (8 points), Johnathan Kovacevic (6 points), Tomas Tatar (5 points), and Šimon Nemec (1 point). Nemec, in fact, has been sitting as a healthy scratch over the last several games as head coach Sheldon Keefe introduced Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce into the lineup following their return to health.
Martin St-Louis’ lineup on Thursday will look a little bit different than what fans saw on Tuesday. Oliver Kapanen has been loaned to Timrå IK of the Swedish Hockey League, with Lucas Condotta recalled from the Laval Rocket to fill his roster spot. Wednesday featured only an optional morning skate, so it remains unclear if Condotta or Michael Pezzetta will fill Kapanen’s place in the lineup. It also remains uncertain as to whether Justin Barron will return to the lineup after sitting out the Flames game.
New Jersey greets Montreal having won three of their last four contests, most recently defeating the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 3-0 on Monday. The one loss though was to the very same Flames that the Canadiens know they can play with. Let’s see if the Habs can keep the positive momentum going in game one of a four game road swing.
