On Thursday, Nov. 6, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Montreal Canadiens at Prudential Center for their first matchup of the season. The Devils were looking to bounce back from a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night, while the Canadiens fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in the shootout on Tuesday. The showdown resulted in a 4-3 victory for the Devils.
Game Recap
The Devils got on the board first, 1:53 into the game, courtesy of Cody Glass, who re-entered the lineup after missing seven games due to an upper-body injury. But the Canadiens were quick to respond with a goal of their own a minute later, after Kirby Dach deflected the puck past Jacob Markstrom. Both teams managed to score on their very first shot of the game.
Midway through the period, Dach was called for goaltender interference, but the Devils were unable to capitalize on the power play. Then, with four minutes left in the first, Timo Meier received a penalty for tripping, but it quickly turned into a 4-on-4 after Ivan Demidov tripped Dawson Mercer. After 20 minutes, shots were 8-4 in favor of the Devils.
Ondrej Palat gave the Devils a 2-1 lead in the second period, with his first goal of the season. With 2:30 left in the second, Simon Nemec was called for hooking, but the Canadiens were unable to get a shot on goal during the power play. New Jersey was also unfortunately down a defenseman since Dougie Hamilton was not on the bench for the remainder of the game.
Less than a minute into the third period, Jake Evans tied the game at two, assisted by Josh Anderson and Noah Dobson. The Devils had power plays in quick succession after Jayden Struble went off for both hooking and high-sticking, but ended up going 0-for-5 on the man advantage.
The Canadiens took a 3-2 lead halfway through the period, after Oliver Kapanen took advantage of a rebound opportunity. Meier managed to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, sending it to overtime.
The hero Jersey deserves. pic.twitter.com/EAmwRKSAO2
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 7, 2025
It didn’t take long for Jesper Bratt to call game, scoring the game-winning goal just 1:33 into overtime. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 16 out of 19 shots faced, while Jakub Dobes recorded an .857 save percentage (SV%).
Looking Ahead
The Devils will continue their three-game homestand against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Canadiens will face the Utah Mammoth at home on Saturday night.
