On Thursday, Nov. 6, the New Jersey Devils are preparing to host the Montreal Canadiens for their first matchup of the season. The Devils are heading home after a four-game road trip that was less than successful for them. New Jersey lost three of the four games, with their last game ending in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The Devils are searching for their next win. They haven’t played since Sunday, so they will be well rested for whatever Montreal sends their way.
Related: Devils’ Blue Line Faces Crucial Test Without Brett Pesce
The Canadiens are also searching for their next win. They just lost at home to the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The Canadiens have this one game on the road before heading back to the Bell Centre. For one of them, they will end up back in the win column.
Devils Storylines
Yesterday, the Devils announced a roster transaction with their American Hockey League (AHL) team, the Utica Comets. New Jersey sent Seamus Casey back to Utica and recalled Colton White. Casey joined the Devils for their road trip, but only played in two games, recording a minus-3. White has been in the NHL since the 2018-19 season but has not played since 2022-23. He has been with the Devils before, from 2018 to 2022. Now, he is back with the team and looking to make a difference on the blue line.
Per Amanda Stein, there is a chance Connor Brown could return to the lineup against Montreal. He has been out with an undisclosed day-to-day injury since Oct. 31, with his last game being against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 30. Brown will be a game-time decision against the Canadiens, but the fact that he is feeling well enough to play is a good sign of his return sooner rather than later.
The player to watch in this game is Jack Hughes. He was the only player to score a goal against the Ducks on Sunday and continues to hold the number one spot on the point leaderboard for the team. Let’s see if he can increase his total tonight.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 9-4-0
Top Scorers:
- Jack Hughes – 10 goals (G), 6 assists (A), 16 points (P)
- Dawson Mercer – 8 G, 6 A, 14 P
- Jesper Bratt – 4 G, 9 A, 13 P
- Nico Hischier – 3 G, 8 A, 11 P
- Timo Meier – 3 G, 7 A, 10 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Allen – 5-2-0, 2.48 goals-against average (GAA), .904 save percentage (SV%)
- Jacob Markstrom – 3-2-0, 4.17 GAA, .875 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-1-0. 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
Montreal Canadiens
Season Record: 9-3-1
Top Scorers:
- Nick Suzuki – 3 G, 16 A, 19 P
- Cole Caufield – 10 G, 6 A, 16 P
- Lane Hutson – 1 G, 12 A, 13 P
- Ivan Demidov – 4 G, 8 A, 12 P
- Alex Newhook – 5 G, 4 A, 9 P
Goalie Stats:
- Sam Montembeault – 3-3-1, 3.67 GAA, .855 SV%
- Jakub Dobes – 6-0-0, 1.97 GAA, .930 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
New Jersey Devils
Stefan Noesen — Jack Hughes — Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat — Nico Hischier — Arseni Gritsyuk
Timo Meier — Dawson Mercer — Connor Brown
Paul Cotter — Juho Lammikko — Luke Glendening
Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Luke Hughes
Dennis Cholowski — Simon Nemec
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Brian Halonen, Colton White
Injured: Brett Pesce, Cody Glass, Marc McLaughlin, Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, Johnathan Kovacevic
Montreal Canadiens
Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook — Oliver Kapanen — Ivan Demidov
Zack Bolduc — Kirby Dach — Brendan Gallagher
Josh Anderson — Jake Evans — Joseph Veleno
Mike Matheson — Noah Dobson
Jayden Struble — Lane Hutson
Arber Xhekaj — Alexandre Carrier
Jakub Dobes
Sam Montembeault
Scratched: Marc Del Gaizo, Gannon Laroque
Injured: Patrik Laine, Kaiden Guhle
Next Up for the Devils
The Devils will continue their homestand, where they will host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, Nov. 8.
