Montreal forward Cole Caufield broke the tie with less than five minutes remaining as the Canadiens defeated the New Jersey Devils.
GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 3 vs New Jersey Devils 2 | FINAL
Canadiens Lineup
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard - 71 Jake Evans - 11 Brendan Gallagher
89 Joshua Roy - 91 Sean Monahan - 40 Joel Armia
55 Michael Pezzetta - 13 Mitchell Stephens - 56 Jesse Ylonen
Defensemen
21 Kaiden Guhle - 8 Mike Matheson
47 Jayden Struble - 58 David Savard
54 Jordan Harris - 52 Justin Barron
Goaltenders
Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault
Alternate: 34 Jake Allen
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Johnathan Kovacevic, Cayden Primeau
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Alex Newhook (lower body), Tanner Pearson (upper body), Christian Dvorak (upper body), Josh Anderson (lower body)
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRrHlVsztvE[/embed]
Game Report
The Montreal Canadiens began the week with a win over the Colorado Avalanche, a team near the top of the standings in the Western Conference. It provided them with confidence and inspiration coming into Newark.
It was a cautiously played game over the first 40 minutes. The Canadiens were opportunistic with their limited chances. Cole Caufield made a nifty play knocking the puck out of the air to Juraj Slafkovsky for the opening goal of the game. Then Sean Monahan delivered the puck on a platter to Joshua Roy who had a wide open cage for his first career goal in the NHL.
Nick Suzuki was assessed a four minute minor penalty for high sticking in the last minute of the second period. The Devils scored twice on the power play early in the third period to tie the game and bring new life to the building.
But once again, it was Monahan feeding the puck to the goal scorer, as Caufield recorded his sixth game-winner of the season.
Roy was much more engaged in his third game in the league, leading the Habs with five shots on goal.
Game Statistics
Canadiens (19-18-7)
Shots: 25
Face-off %: 37.8
Power play: 0/1
Penalty minutes: 8
Hits: 11
Blocks:17
Devils (22-17-3)
Shots: 30
Face-off %: 62.2
Power play: 2/4
Penalty minutes: 2
Hits: 12
Blocks: 12
Scoring Summary
Canadiens Scorers
1st period: Slafkovsky (6)
2nd period: Roy (1)
3rd period: Caufield (14)
OT: --
SO: --
Devils Scorers
1st period: --
2nd period: --
3rd period: Hughes (8)-PPG, Holtz (11)-PPG
OT: --
SO: --
Goaltenders
MTL: Montembeault (W) 10-6-4
NJD: Daws (L) 3-3-0
Canadiens Players of the Game
Sean Monahan - Monahan recorded two primary assists making key plays on the goals by Joshua Roy and Cole Caufield..
Cole Caufield - Caufield scored the game-winner and made a skilled play to .
Jordan Harris - Harris was the Canadiens best defenseman on this night earning an assist, a plus-2 ranking and a 4.11 game score.
Video Highlights
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESF2ecPew4[/embed]
Post-game Quotes
Cole Caufield
"It's not easy when you start the period shorthanded for more than three minutes, but it happens. We knew the scenario that happened could happen. We did not give up."
“We can't say we played our best game, but we found a way to win and that's something important in this league. I just like the way our group stuck together and there was never any doubt."
Up Next
The Canadiens continue their road trip stopping in Ottawa on Thursday night to face the Senators.
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