The essence:

Matchup: Montreal Canadiens at New Jersey Devils

Date: November 7, 2024

Time: 7:00 PM ET

Broadcast: MSGSN, TSN2, RDS, ESPN+

Listen: Devils Hockey Network

The last devil’s game: The New Jersey Devils defeated the Edmonton Oilers by a final score of 3-0. Check out Jackson’s recap of that game.

The final Canadiens game: The Canadiens lost 3-2 in overtime to the Calgary Flames. Check out the NHL.com video recap of that game.

Recent momentum: The Canadiens were in trouble, losing four of their last five games. Montreal’s last win came on October 27 against the Philadelphia Flyer, which Devils fans appreciate. The Devils have two losses (one in overtime) and three wins in their last five games, including two shutout victories.

Montreal in numbers

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Habs rank 16th in the NHL in Goals For (GF) with just 35. Cole Caufield has scored 10 of those 35 goals, but more on that below. The Canadiens rank 23rd with just 2.68 GF per game. Montreal has allowed 52 goals, second-worst in the NHL behind only Colorado. The Canadiens also rank second in the league in Scoring Chances Against (SCA), with 453 so far this season, and High Danger Chances Against (HDCA) with 193 (per Natural Stat Trick). The Devils should have plenty of opportunities to score in this match.

The setups

Montreal Canadians

According to Jonathan Bernier, here were the lines and pairings for the Canadiens versus the Flames.

Devils from New Jersey

Head coach Sheldon Keefe used the following line combinations and pairs against Edmonton:

Offence

Timo Meier-Nico Hischier-Dawson Mercer

Ondrej Palat-Jack Hughes-Jesper Bratt

Paul Cotter-Erik Haula-Stefan Noesen

Kurtis MacDermid-Justin Dowling-Tomas Tatar

Defense

Brenden Dillon-Dougie Hamilton

Jonas Siegenthaler-Johnathan Kovacevic

Luke Hughes-Brett Pesce

Goals

I expect Jacob Markstrom to get the start Thursday night at The Rock.

The fourth line struggled against Edmonton and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Keefe adjust that line. I still think Dowling and Tatar have the potential to provide some offense, but MacDermid doesn’t fit in anywhere. Maybe now that the Devils are back home, Keefe will call up Nolan Foote or Brian Halonen. Check out Chris’s post about the other possible solutions for the exhausted fourth line.

What to pay attention to

Caufield is in tears

Cole Caufield received the Molson Cup for his performance in October. The left winger from Montreal scored 10 goals in 11 games during the first month of the season, tying Nico Hischier (and several others) for the NHL lead in goals (at the time of writing this post). It is usually the job of the Hischier line and Siegenthaler to eliminate the opponent’s top line. New Jersey will have to find a way to dump a bucket of cold water on the Caufield-Suzuki-Dach line.

Young goaltending and vulnerable defense

The Devils faced Montreal in the preseason and one of the topics I covered in that post was the Canadiens’ young goaltenders. Jake Allen was traded to New Jersey, paving the way for Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau. How have the young goalkeepers done so far? Not as good as Montreal had hoped. Primeau, Montembeault’s backup, has struggled posting an .861 save percentage, 4.38 goals per game (GAA) and -3.67 Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA) per Natural Stat Trick during six games. Montembeault has done his best to save a struggling defense, posting an .898 save percentage and 3.67 GSAA. Despite the GSAA stats, Montembeault is still allowing 3.37 goals per game (per Natural Stat Trick).

These statistics indicate that the Canadiens are struggling defensively. According to Frank Seravalli, the team is currently looking on the trade market for help. The Habs have had some injury woes on the blue line and are looking to sign a top-four right-handed defenseman to make life more bearable for their young goaltenders. Additionally, the Canadiens’ second duo consists of David Savard, who is entering his 15th NHL season, and rookie Lane Hutson. As Seravalli mentions in the clip below, Hutson is being pushed into nearly 23 minutes of ice time per game very early in his young career. Despite Montembeault’s strong play, the Devils should be able to exploit Montreal’s defense and score goals in this game.

Strong play from the Hughes-Pesce pairing

Jackson mentioned it in his recap of the game, but in the Devils’ last game, where the Oilers dominated play, Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce excelled. Luke Hughes had one of his best games of the season, recording 69.36 xGF%. This is the type of play Devils fans were hoping to see from this combination, and they deliver. I’d like to see this momentum continue with another strong effort in tonight’s game against Montreal.

Your thoughts

What are you paying attention to? How do you think the Hughes-Pesce combination played? Do you think the Devils will put up big numbers offensively tonight? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and GO DEVILS!