Jack Hughes scored twice, leading the New Jersey Devils to a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, extending their winning streak to 10 games.
Dougie Hamilton, Jesper Bratt, and John Marino also found the net for New Jersey, while Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves.
“It’s all about the team. It’s any line contributing, a defense pair, the goaltender making saves,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “When you’re on a roll like this, it’s about team play and everyone participating in the wins.”
Evgenii Dadonov scored his first season goal for the Canadiens (8-7-1), and Jake Allen finished with 34 saves.
“They really showed their speed and execution in the second period,” Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis said. “It’s no coincidence they’ve won 10 in a row. It’s a good test for us, even if we didn’t get a good grade. There’s a lesson in everything and definitely a lesson in this game, so we’ll have to find some answers.”
Montreal started aggressively, with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield missing a prime two-man break opportunity in the first period.
The Devils opened the scoring in the second period. With Kirby Dach off for tripping, Hughes fired a perfect shot over Allen’s shoulder.
Hamilton doubled New Jersey’s lead minutes later, winning a puck battle and scoring on the short side.
“We got to work in the second (period) and really ground them out,” Bratt said. “We returned in the second and third periods and showed our character.”
The Canadiens closed within 2-1 when a pass from Sean Monahan deflected to Dadonov, who scored into a wide-open net.
A defensive zone giveaway late in the second period left Hughes alone in the slot, and he netted his second game goal.
With seven minutes left, another giveaway proved costly as Bratt capitalized, putting the game out of reach. Marino added an empty-net goal in the final seconds.
IT’S RAINING GOALS
The Devils’ offensive production has been among the best in the league, with contributions from across the roster. The team already has 18 goal scorers and has found the back of the net 43 times during their win streak.
UP NEXT
- New Jersey: At Toronto on Thursday in the second game of a three-game trip.
- Montreal: At Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
