On Jan. 25, the New Jersey Devils took a quick trip to Montreal to play against the Canadiens at Centre Bell. The Devils had a strong lead, but in the third, the Canadiens tied the score. With overtime forced, the pressure was on. The Devils were able to take the victory 4-3 and grab the two points.
Devils’ Bottom Six Scoring Once Again
There has been a lack of scoring from everyone on the Devils recently, but the bottom six players are beginning to show up for the team.
Curtis Lazar was awarded the puck after a battle between the Devils and the Canadiens for control. He sent a pass to Dougie Hamilton at the blue line. He took a shot that was blocked by Jakub Dobes, but Tomas Tatar was in front of the net and he was able to redirect the rebound into the net.
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In the past three games, Tatar has scored two goals. This puts him at a total of five for the season. He sits at 12 points altogether with his assists. He has played in 45 games out of the 51 so far for the Devils; he was a healthy scratch in the other six. With his performance in the past few games, it seems Tatar is proving he deserves his time out on the ice.
Allen with a Strong Game
Jake Allen kept the Devils in the game last night, making 29 saves out of the 32 shots the Canadiens took. He had a save percentage of .904 after his 64 minutes of ice time.
Jacob Markstrom will be out for the next several weeks due to injury. This was the first game that Allen had to start since Markstrom sustained the injury, and he stepped up in a big way. This was his 15th start this season out of the 51 games. He has not seen a lot of ice time, with Marktsrom being the clear starter for the Devils. This game against the Canadiens proved that Allen is able to step up while Markstrom is resting up and recovering.
Jack Hughes with the OT Winner
The Canadiens came back to tie it in the third period, forcing the game to go into overtime to decide the winner. In the end, it was Jack Hughes who put the game away for the Devils.
It boiled down to the last minute. Timo Meier was able to steal the puck away from Mike Matheson after a bad pass. He made a breakaway with Jack Hughes. He passed to Hughes, who was outside Matheson. He got up close to the goal and took a shot. With 54 seconds left on the clock, he scored the game-winning goal for the Devils.
This was Hughes’ first goal since Jan. 16 when he faced the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the three-game span between that game and this one, he only recorded one assist. He continues to lead the team in overall points with 57. He has been surpassed in goals and assists, sitting at the number two spot for both statistics. Nico Hischier currently leads in goals with 24 while Hughes has 19. Jesper Bratt leads with assists, having 39 to Hughes’ 38.
In the past few games, Hughes has not been on his A-game. He hasn’t taken control of the puck like he had at the beginning of the season. Hopefully, this overtime goal gives him back the confidence to break out of his scoring slump.
Keep the Points Rolling
The Devils will head to Philadelphia to play the Flyers on Monday, Jan. 27, where they will look to pick up another two points.
