The New Jersey Devils took down the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 5-3 to mark their second straight victory. They’re now 9-5-2 on the season. Their penalty kill was perfect in the contest, propelling them to 84.1% — ninth in the NHL. Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes had three-point nights.
“It really feels like we’re about to pop soon,” Jack Hughes told The Hockey Writers following his strong performance.
Game Recap
The Devils got the scoring started with a highlight-reel effort from Jack Hughes, who danced around the Canadiens’ defense and threaded a perfect feed to Jesper Bratt for a tap-in. Hughes wasn’t done in that frame though. About 12 minutes later, he made another perfect feed – this time to Ondrej Palat – who sniped it past Sam Montembeault to double the lead.
Don’t bother us. We’re busy watching this PB&J goal on repeat. pic.twitter.com/aeGiD5SONu
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 8, 2024
In the second, both teams traded chances until Jonas Siegenthaler gave the puck away, leading to an Alex Newhook goal. It was one Markstrom certainly wanted back, as he got a sliver of the shot from 40 feet away, but not enough. Siegenthaler redeemed himself though, after a wild sequence led to him ripping one home and restoring the two-goal lead. Minutes later, Brendan Gallagher crashed the net and put one behind Markstrom to make it 3-2.
The third period was a true test for the Devils: holding onto a lead at home was an area of struggle last season. Markstrom made some key stops and then J. Hughes answered the call once more, scoring on a partial breakaway about midway through the frame. That seemed to rejuvenate the crowd, who echoed chants of “HUUUGHES”. But minutes later, Newhook cashed in his second with a Datsyuk-ian flip over the shoulder of Markstrom.
The Devils were able to stave off some last-ditch efforts from the Canadiens and put the game away with an empty net goal from Bratt. They’ll be in action again on Saturday against the New York Islanders.
