Preview: New Jersey at Montreal
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 28, 2015
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
The Montreal Canadiens look to complete a home-and-home sweep when they host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Montreal took the opener of the set in New Jersey on Friday, posting a 3-2 shootout victory to extend its winning streak to four games.
Sven Andrighetto and Alex Galchenyuk sparked the Canadiens’ comeback from a 2-0 deficit, with the former getting his team on the board late in the second period before netting the decisive tally in the fifth round of the bonus format and the latter forging a tie midway through the third before scoring on Montreal’s first shootout attempt. New Jersey’s offensive struggles continued as it suffered its fourth loss in five games (1-3-1). Friday marked the seventh time in eight contests the Devils produced fewer than four goals, with the team falling to 3-4-1 in that span. New Jersey has managed two tallies in each of its last four meetings with Montreal, which has won three of those matchups.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New Jersey), CITY, TVA (Montreal)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (11-9-2): Adam Henrique continued his hot streak, scoring his team-leading 11th goal to give him eight points (five tallies) in his last nine games. The 25-year-old has recorded a goal in each of his last three contests. Mike Cammalleri notched his 16th assist of the season, eclipsing his total from 2014-15.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (18-4-2): With Carey Price sidelined again with a lower-body injury, Mike Condon made 25 saves in improving to 6-2-2 in the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner’s absence this season. Bud Holloway made his NHL debut Friday, recording one shot in 7 minutes, 19 seconds of ice time. The 27-year-old center, who was a third-round pick of Los Angeles in the 2006 draft, spent the last four seasons in Europe before signing a one-year contract with Montreal in July.
OVERTIME
1. Devils C Patrik Elias recorded an assist Friday in his second game of the season after missing the first 20 contests with a knee injury.
2. Montreal improved to 4-0-0 during its five-game stretch against New York Metropolitan Area teams.
3. Veteran C Tyler Kennedy made his debut for New Jersey after signing a one-year, two-way contract earlier in the day, registering one shot and a minus-1 rating in 6 minutes, 51 seconds of ice time.
PREDICTION: Canadiens 4, Devils 3