Hughes powers Devils past Canadiens for 10th straight win

MONTREAL --Jack Hughes scored twice and had an assist, and the New Jersey Devils extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 5-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

Dougie Hamilton and Jesper Bratt each had a goal and an assist, and Dawson Mercer had two assists for New Jersey (13-3-0), which hasn't lost since Oct. 24.
Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves. The goalie did not dress Saturday after being replaced in the third period of a 4-3 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
"We were loose in the first period, trading chances, and weren't really committed to getting above the puck and preventing opportunities," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "And I've got to give [the Canadiens] some credit. They skated well, they hit a few holes on us. I thought the first period both goalies really made big saves."

The winning streak is the third longest in Devils history, trailing 13 games in 2000-01 and 11 in 2005-06.
"We knew they wanted to attack from our mistakes," New Jersey defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler said. "We just tried to limit our mistakes and have good gaps against them and give them nothing, be close to them, don't even give them a shot, and I think we were pretty good tonight."
Jake Allen made 34 saves, and Evgenii Dadonov scored his first goal for Montreal (8-7-1), which ended a season-high three-game winning streak.
"We knew they were playing well," Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. "They're a fast team, they're up and down the ice real quick, and I think we couldn't really find solutions early. We were on our heels a lot, playing in our own zone, and it's not a good recipe for us."
Hughes gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 3:57 of the second period, scoring from the left face-off circle on a power-play for his 50th NHL goal.
"[Hughes] really stayed with it the whole game and he played really good with the puck," Bratt said. "And he was creating a lot, especially on the power play there, he was willing to shoot. And he was a big threat for us all game and he really shows what kind of player he is when he gets the chance to make something happen."
Hamilton made it 2-0 at 6:06, snapping a wrist shot under the crossbar on a 2-on-1 after stripping the puck in the neutral zone.

Dadonov cut it to 2-1 at 9:55 when Sean Monahan's shot hit Devils forward Yegor Sharangovich's skate and caromed to him crashing the net.
Hughes extended it to 3-1 at 15:29, curling in the right circle and beating Allen's blocker, and Bratt made it 4-1 at 12:19 of the third period, scoring off the back of Allen while he was trying to get back into position.
"We really came back in the second and third and showed a lot of character," Bratt said.
John Marino scored an empty-net goal at 19:56 for the 5-1 final.
"I thought we turned the puck over a few too many times, and when you're playing a skilled team like that. it's not a good recipe," Monahan said.
NOTES:Vanecek is the first Devils goalie to win seven straight decisions since Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg each did it in 2010-11. … Montreal forwards Jonathan Drouin (upper body) and Joel Armia (upper body) did not play. Following the game, the Canadiens announced Drouin will miss 4-6 weeks. … Montreal forward Juraj Slafkovsky had four shots on goal and three blocked shots in 12:24 of ice time after serving a two-game suspension for boarding Matt Luff of the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 8. … The Canadiens successfully challenged a goal by Tomas Tatar 15 seconds into the third period for offside. … Hamilton extended his point streak to five games (three goals, four assists). ... Dadonov was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights on June 16 for defenseman Shea Weber.