Game 55: Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils
Start time: **1:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Devils region: MSGSN
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Montreal went to California probably needing a sweep of the three teams to keep themselves realistically in the playoff race. What transpired over the three games in four days was nothing short of a disaster for their post-season hopes: just one win versus the San Jose Sharks, and that in a game they were outplayed by the worst team in the NHL. Now the Canadiens return to their home fans not as a team that will play meaningful game in the final couple of months, but one that can only promise things will be better next year.
Fortunately for everyone involved, it’s a believable claim as the fans have been dreaming about Ivan Demidov since about this time a year ago, and that becomes a reality in October. Lane Hutson will have an off-season to work on the lessons he’s taking from his rookie year, and David Reinbacher should be in the lineup as well — perhaps even before this season ends. At this point it’s probably an important reminder that the Canadiens are the second-youngest team in the NHL, and their current slump is really only disappointing because that inexperienced group showed its potential for an extended period of time this year, earlier than anticipated.
The things to pay attention to in the final 28 games are what some of the younger players who’ve had disappointing seasons can do to set themselves up for 2025-26. Juraj Slafkovský is at risk of losing his top-line spot to Demidov next year. Can he finish this season like he did the last to at least make that a debate in the off-season? Kirby Dach, meanwhile, was cited by many (including his own teammates) as the X-factor for this season based on his previous performance, but hasn’t been near the level he showed in his first year with the team. The club will need to have a definitive answer on whether he can be the second-line centre of the future or if they need to devote a significant portion of the rising salary cap to acquiring one to take that role. And there’s Emil Heineman, who should be returning soon, perhaps after the 4 Nations Face-Off, who has had an exceptional season and will want to establish that he can be a top-nine forward for the team.
We’ll also see how Jakub Dobes carries on now that the boost in confidence from his NHL debut has worn off. After barely allowing a goal in his first handful of games, he’s been allowing many more recently, but he’s also not getting help from heavily regressing defensive play in front of him. For the second time this week, he will be getting the start in the latter half of a back-of-back versus the prominent opponent, having a chance to show he should be on the NHL roster once again come next season.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Devils |
|---|---|---|
| 25-24-5 | Record | 30-20-6 |
| 48.4% (25th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 53.7% (5th) |
| 2.93 (16th) | Goals per game | 3.04 (13th) |
| 3.39 (29th) | Goals against per game | 2.52 (4th) |
| 20.6% (20th) | PP% | 27.9% (2nd) |
| 82.0% (9th) | PK% | 84.0% (3rd) |
| 0-1-1 | Head-to-Head Record | 2-0-0 |
Goaltending is one of the top stories for this afternoon’s opponent as well. Finally, after years of searching, the New Jersey Devils have found a player they can trust with the majority of the games. But on January 22, Jacob Markstrom was knocked out of the game with an injury, and still has another two to four weeks to go in his recovery before he returns. With him out, the starts have mostly been going to Jake Allen, a member of Montreal’s three-man tandem last season. He’s probably not going to get to the 40 starts Montreal needs to turn a third-round pick into a second-rounder as a condition of last year’s trade, but he’s trying to maintain New Jersey’s place at third in the Metropolitan Division standings.
Nico Hischier also remains out with the injury he sustained when these teams last met on January 25. The loss of the number-two forward in ice time is just as big a blow as Markstrom’s, and yet the Devils have managed to go 4-3-0 since the starting netminder went down. They’re just trying to get through today’s game and to the two-week pause so they can not only shave that time of the recoveries of their star players, but give everyone a rest who has been forced to play up a level in their absences.
New Jersey has much more to play for and should favoured for the win. For Montreal, this return home will just be about re-establishing their 200-foot game and addressing some of the issues that have cropped back up on defence and in their transition play. There’s little to play for today, but you know the Habs would love to have an impact on the playoff chances of the Tampa Bay Lightning by sweeping the season series with their division rival the next day. Ideally they’ll be ramping up into a form today that allows them to make that a possibility on Super Bowl Sunday.
