MONTREAL — In an exciting matchup Saturday night, Jack Hughes netted the game-winning goal at 4:06 of overtime, leading the New Jersey Devils to a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
Jake Allen stood strong for the Devils, making 29 stops in what marked his first regular-season clash against the Canadiens since his trade from Montreal on March 8, 2024.
Alongside Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Tomas Tatar contributed goals for New Jersey, marking their second consecutive win after a rough patch that saw them lose nine out of eleven games.
On the other end, the Canadiens had their share of scorers with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Alexandre Carrier finding the net. Unfortunately for Montreal, this loss marked back-to-back defeats, a troubling trend they hadn’t seen since mid-December 2024.
Goalie Jakub Dobes experienced the first loss of his NHL career, despite making an impressive 40 saves. The Czech rookie had previously enjoyed a five-game winning streak since being promoted by the Canadiens on December 27.
This game also marked the Devils’ first outing without their starting goaltender, Jacob Markstrom, who is sidelined for four to six weeks due to an MCL strain sustained during a recent dominant win over the Boston Bruins.
The Canadiens’ offensive effort was notably led by their top line consisting of Suzuki, Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky. This trio was pivotal, contributing to all three goals scored by Montreal while racking up a total of seven points (two goals and five assists).
Interestingly, for New Jersey, this was only the second time in 13 games that they managed to tally four goals, showing signs of a potential offensive revival.
A key moment came early in the third period when Suzuki decisively won a faceoff, directing the puck back to Kaiden Guhle, who set up Carrier for a powerful slap shot that beat Allen, equalizing the game at 3-3 just over three and a half minutes into the period. This goal was particularly significant for Carrier, as it marked his first since being traded to Montreal from the Nashville Predators on December 18, 2024.
An impressive statistic from this matchup is that the Devils continued their dominance at the Bell Centre, achieving their ninth consecutive victory there, a streak that dates back to April 1, 2018.
Looking ahead, the Devils are set to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, while the Canadiens prepare to host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
