New Jersey 6, Montreal 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Referees:
Kendrick Nicholson, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen:
Darren Gibbs, Brian Mach
Attendance:
14586
By Field Level Media
Travis Zajac scored a pair of first-period power-play goals in a three-point game and Taylor Hall continued his torrid scoring streak as the New Jersey Devils scored four times in the opening frame en route to a 6-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night in New Jersey.
Hall collected two assists, which officially gives him a 19-game point streak. He's hit the scoresheet in 26 straight games played - a three-game hiatus due to a knee injury breaking up the run - in which he's collected 18 goals and 38 points.
Goalie Keith Kinkaid made 29 saves in the win at Prudential Center, which snaps New Jersey's three-game losing skid, on a night his teammates provided an offensive onslaught.
Stefan Noesen opened the scoring 8:25 into the tilt. Zajac gained the puck deep in the offensive zone and passed it to Will Butcher for the point shot that Noesen deflected behind Montreal goalie Charlie Lindgren.
Blake Coleman doubled the lead at 16:33 with a rebound goal. Butcher's point shot was stopped but the besieged Canadiens netminder couldn't corral it and Coleman was on the spot.
Then Zajac collected two man-advantage markers 100 seconds apart. His first at 18:08 was another redirection of a point shot - this one coming off the stick of Kyle Palmieri - that went through the legs of Patrick Maroon as he set the screen. Zajac's second came when Lindgren stopped Hall's shot but had no chance on the rebound offering that was fired top corner with 11.3 seconds remaining in the frame.
After Montreal's Brendan Gallagher put the visitors on the board just past the midway point with his third goal in four games, Patrick Maroon netted New Jersey's third power-play goal of the game in as many opportunities at 11:36. Brian Boyle made it a 6-1 game at 16:14.
While the Devils pulled their foot off the gas, Montreal made it respectable thanks to a couple of goals by Jacob de la Rose, one coming with 15.7 seconds left in the second period and the other with 5:20 remaining, and Byron Froese rounded out the scoring with 59 seconds remaining.
Lindgren stopped 27 shots for Montreal.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Montreal |
|
New Jersey |
Jacob De La Rose 2 |
Points |
Travis Zajac 3 |
Jacob De La Rose 2 |
Goals |
Travis Zajac 2 |
Mike Reilly 2 |
Assists |
Will Butcher 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Travis Zajac 2 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Charlie Lindgren .818 |
Save Percentage |
Keith Kinkaid .879 |
Charlie Lindgren 27 |
Saves |
Keith Kinkaid 29 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Montreal
|
33 |
4 |
0-2 |
2-5 |
12 |
32 |
New Jersey
|
33 |
6 |
3-5 |
2-2 |
6 |
35 |
Upcoming Games
-
New Jersey will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Devils have a W/L % of .588 after a win and .424 after a loss.
-
Montreal will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .325 after a loss.