Preview: Devils vs. Canadiens

vsMTL-Preview

NEW JERSEY DEVILS (8-5-2) vs. CANADIENS (4-7-2)

New Jersey returns home from a Western Canada swing as they host the Montreal Canadiens.

You can watch on MSGSN or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below. Tonight's game is presented by Warren Thompson & Son.

WATCH & LISTEN

TV: MSGSN

RADIO: Devils Hockey Network 

GAME-DAY VIDEO
Devils Minute: O-Zone Improvements
Pre-Game Player Interviews: Tatar
Pre-Game Interview with Sheldon Keefe

The Devils want to improve their o-zone play to control the game and counter Montreal's speed

MORNING SKATE RECAP

NEWARK, N.J. - New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe is very familiar with tonight's opponent. Before joining the Devils, he coached for five-plus years in Toronto. He coached his fair share of games against the Montreal Canadiens, so he understands their team well and what his Devils will be up against tonight.

“We’re a team that, when we have the puck, we can make some plays, we can be dangerous on the rush just like them," Keefe said after Thursday's optional skate. "In terms of my time coaching against them as much as I have, I would say they are very dangerous on offense, transition, active defense, forwards getting behind your defense. They come with a lot of speed and can make plays.”

The Canadiens are on their second four-game losing streak of the NHL season and will certainly try to end their skid, but it won't be easy. The Devils have continued to improve their defensive game while continuing to thrive offensively.

"I think we’ve been pretty darn good defensively all season," Keefe shared. "We’ve had a couple of nights where our opponents made it real hard on us, but generally speaking, you look at a lot of our underlying numbers, we’re among the top defensive teams in the NHL in terms of what we’ve given up, which has not been a lot.”

Meanwhile, the Canadiens are averaging just 2.69 goals per game, which ranks 23rd in the league.

Optional

The Devils held an optional morning skate where a few players participated in a pre-game spin on the ice. Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Tomas Tatar, Paul Cotter, Justin Dowling, Kurtis MacDermid, and Jake Allen all participated in the morning session.

Keefe also confirmed that Jacob Markstrom will get the start in goal.

Two at the Top

Tonight two of the top goal scorers in the NHL go head-to-head: Nico Hischier and Cole Caufield. Both sit atop the league (as does Florida's Sam Reinhart) with ten goals a piece. So, while the Devils can often rely on Hischier to contribute offensively, and opponents knowingly have to guard against him and his 200-ft game, so do the Devils when it comes to Caufield and his offensive talents. Because just like Hischier, Caufield can make you pay for your mistakes.

“It’s not easy, you’ve got to play good defensively (against Caufield), not making any turnovers at the offensive blueline," Tomas Tatar said. "They’re a great rush team; we have to be aware of it; that’s their strength. We want to be better in the offensive zone; in the games that we’ve played, we still know we have a lot to work on.”

Honing It In

A lot has been new for New Jersey heading into this season, from players, to a new coach and system. Now, 15 games in, it all is starting to come together. What Keefe has stressed most is the full buy-in defensively from the team and while there is always room for more improvement, the team is certainly starting to reap the rewards of that mentality.

"You look at, not a perfect road trip by any means defensively, but we played about 175 minutes or so of shutout hockey on a very difficult Western Canada road trip, so lots for us to build upon there," Keefe said. "And you like the buy-in; it’s been good.”

Tatar says the team, now in the thick of things, is really starting to grasp all that was new.

“It’s been a lot of new stuff for us, but we can see the benefits of it," he said. "We had a very tough schedule at the start with a lot of learning, tough schedule, but we somehow managed it, and now it’s time to grow and be better every day; that's what we’re here for.”

THE SCOOP

The Devils enter Thursday's game fresh off a Western Canada road trip where they went 2-1-0. New Jersey picked up a 6-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks and a 3-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers. The sole loss of the trip was dealt by the Calgary Flames who scored three goals in the final six minutes of regulation to pick up the win. New Jersey has seen improved performances defensively as their goaltenders continue to come up with big saves and provide a calming presence. When it comes to special teams, the Devils penalty kill continues to shine, as they're keeping their opponents from scoring on 83.3% of their power play opportunities (9th in the NHL). New Jersey's power play is fifth in the NHL with a 30.4% success rate, and the Devils had power play goals in both of their road wins over the last week.

Jacob Markstrom has played the majority of the Devils schedule and through 10 games he has a 5-4-1 record. Markstrom is averaging 2.62 goals against per game and has a .907 save percentage. Jake Allen, the other half of the goaltending tandem, has played five games and has a 3-1-1 record. He's averaging 2.60 goals against and has a .904 save percentage. Both goaltenders recorded a shutout on the Western Canada swing with Markstrom getting the win in Vancouver, while Allen won in Edmonton.

Thursday's game kicks off six games in 10 nights for the Devils. Up next, a weekend back-to-back that starts with a road game on Long Island before the Devils return home to host the San Jose Sharks. Next weekend, New Jersey heads out on a three-game Florida road trip where they face the Panthers twice before wrapping up with a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Canadiens are on a four-game losing skid and most recently lost 3-2 in overtime to the Calgary Flames Tuesday night. In their most recent loss, both of Montreal's goals were special teams goals as Brendan Gallagher scored on the power play and Joel Armia had a shorthanded goal. The Canadiens' special teams are middle of the pack as the power play is ranked 13th in the NHL while the penalty kill is 14th. However, Montreal is allowing the second most goals against per game (4.00) and are averaging the 23rd most goals per game (2.69).

Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau make up the Canadiens goaltender tandem with Montembeault playing the majority of games. Montembeault has played nine games to start the year and has a 3-5-1 record. He's averaging 3.37 goal against with a .897 save percentage. Primeau has started four games and played in six. He has a 1-2-1 record, is averaging 4.38 goals against and has a .861 save percentage.

Thursday's game starts four-straight on the road for Canadiens who make stops in Toronto, Buffalo, and Minnesota before returning home.

WHO’S HOT

Devils: Captain Nico Hischier continues to lead the Devils with his on-ice performance. His 10 goals and 16 points lead New Jersey and Hischier has points in 10 of the first 15 games this season. Hischier has four multi-point games including two with three points: Oct. 19 versus the Washington Capitals and Oct. 30 in Vancouver.

Canadiens: Forward Cole Caufield also has 10 goals to start the year as he leads the Canadiens in that scoring category. Caufield has scored at least one goal in eight of 12 games played. He has two multi-goal games: Oct. 12 versus the Ottawa Senators and Oct. 19 in a road contest against the New York Islanders.

INJURIES

Devils: Lazar (left knee), Bastian (jaw), Hatakka (upper-body)

Canadiens: Harvey-Pinard (leg, IR), Laine (leg, IR)

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

  • Nov. 7 vs MTL
  • Jan. 25 at MTL
  • Feb. 8 at MTL

STATS LEADERS

STATS LEADERS
DEVILS
CANADIENS
Goals
Hischier, 10
Caufield, 10
Assists
Bratt, 12
Matheson, 9
Points
Hischier, 16
Suzuki, 13

GAME NOTES

  • The Devils lead the NHL in second period goals this season. They've scored 23 through 15 games played. New Jersey is also fifth in third period goals this season with 19.*
  • Through five games against Canadian teams to start the year, the Devils have a 3-2-0 record.
  • The Devils are 5-3-1 when scoring first in a game this season. New Jersey improved to 7-0-0 when leading after the second period of play.

*As of Nov. 6