Despite the panoply of turnovers he committed in neutral territory and in his own zone, the Habs left the home of the Devils with a victory of 7-4.
A victory is largely attributable to the shaky outfit of Andrew Hammond. The former Canadiens goaltender yielded six times on 19 shots. Lindy Ruff pulled him out of the game 86 seconds into the third period. For the 34-year-old British Columbian, it’s been day and night since Kent Hughes traded his services on March 21. In the uniform of the Canadian, he seemed to have managed to revive his career. He had won three in as many starts, allowing just eight goals in 200 minutes of play.
“I don’t know if he played that badly,” Nick Suzuki said. My goal was the result of a three against two. I missed my shot a bit, which probably confused him a bit. Cole (Caufield) scored on a breakaway on that of Jake (Evans), there was a screen. Nevertheless, Hammond, the seventh goaltender used by the Devils this season, has already given up 13 goals in two games.
three-point parties
Suzuki and Caufield took advantage of the evening to add a goal and an assist each to their record. After a tougher outing against the Senators on Tuesday at the Bell Centre, the dynamic duo bounced back nicely.
Chris Wideman also had a blast. Returning to the game after giving up his place to Jordan Harris in the two previous games, the defender scored his fourth goal of the season in addition to being an accomplice to those of Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak.
The latter also had a three-point night (one goal, two assists). Just like Kale Clague, who found a great way to celebrate his return to the game after a 13-game absence.
Allen still strong
If Hammond was more than generous, Jake Allen once again distinguished himself. The irregular play of his teammates forced him to surpass himself on a few occasions. Yegor Sharangovich and Janne Kuokkanen each presented themselves in front of him without succeeding in having the last word.
“He was fantastic. He is one of those who stand out in every game. When you have a chance to win, he usually plays very well. He kept us in the game in the second period. Luckily, we couldn’t reward him with a win,” Wideman said after the game.
It was Allen’s fifth straight start, his 10th in the last 11 games. He collected his ninth victory of the season.
As announced the day before, Carey Price is on the trip. In the morning, he walked the ice at the Prudential Center with the players who were not going to face the Devils. The goalkeeper spent almost an hour on the playing surface. He looked in great shape. His return to the game seems imminent.
Harris the spectator
Martin St-Louis had chosen to leave Jordan Harris aside. The head coach of the Canadian explained that he wanted to allow everyone to touch the ice. “He’s not going out because he played badly. We have nine or 10 defenders. You have to give it to everyone. It will give him the opportunity, after playing two games, to watch the game from above and see himself in certain situations. You can learn a lot by watching.
An expected goal for Greer
By closing the gap to one goal in the second period, AJ Greer moved the ropes for the second time in his career. The 25-year-old Joliettain had not scored in the NHL since February 20, 2019. He then wore the colors of the Colorado Avalanche.
Subban in tears
PK Subban will probably wish to quickly forget this evening. The former Canadiens defender was on the ice for five of the visitors’ seven goals. The one whose contract ends on July 1 now has a record of -12 this season.
