Facing a three-goal deficit and their playoff hopes fading, the Montreal Canadiens dug deep and found a spark that could ignite their season.
Ilya Kovalchuk netted the only shootout goal as the Canadiens rallied from a 3-0 second-period deficit to defeat the New Jersey Devils 5-4 on Tuesday night.
“The most important thing is we won,” Kovalchuk said after Montreal secured its seventh victory in 10 games. “We battled back from 3-0, and that’s a really good sign. We showed a lot of character. We needed that game and stepped up in the second and third periods with some big goals.”
With regular goaltender Carey Price sidelined due to illness, Charlie Lindgren stepped in and made 20 saves. He also stopped shootout attempts by Nikita Gusev, Kyle Palmieri, and Jack Hughes.
Joel Armia, Nate Thompson, Nick Cousins, and Christian Folin scored in regulation for the Canadiens.
“I know I’m a fighter and never going to give up, and getting the two points tonight is big,” Lindgren said. “A lot of credit has to go to the guys. They played hard and never gave up.”
Kyle Palmieri scored two power-play goals for the Devils, including the game-tying tally with 20 seconds left in regulation, following a Montreal too-many-men penalty. Miles Wood and Jesper Bratt also scored for New Jersey. Louis Domingue made 32 saves as the Devils played their fourth straight overtime game since the All-Star break. Domingue had no chance on Kovalchuk’s decisive wrist shot in the shootout.
“He’s been a great influence in all aspects,” Canadiens coach Claude Julien said of Kovalchuk, who was signed as a free agent last month. “He’s been a real good addition.”
Folin gave the Canadiens a 4-3 lead with a shot from the right point at 9:35 of the third period. The puck deflected off Devils forward Travis Zajac in the right circle and bounced into the net.
The Devils tied it late with Palmieri’s 19th goal on a power play.
New Jersey seemed in control when Bratt’s flubbed shot beat Lindgren at 6:44 of the second period, giving the Devils a 3-0 lead.
The Canadiens’ hopes dimmed further when Max Domi was penalized at 12:29, giving New Jersey a power play. But the momentum shifted dramatically in the next 40 seconds.
Armia, who had been stopped on a short-handed breakaway earlier in the period, intercepted Palmieri’s pass at center ice and beat Domingue on another breakaway to cut the lead to 3-1.
“Right after the shorthanded goal, they turned it to another level,” Palmieri said. “They played with the desperation they needed to return to the game, and we couldn’t match it. We found a way to grind a point, but we let our foot off the gas, and they picked it up.”
Thompson made it a one-goal game less than four minutes later with a power move from the right point, scoring his third of the season from close range.
Cousins tied it at 7:22 of the third, finishing a nice setup by Brett Kulak with a shot from close range.
Wood had opened the scoring for New Jersey with a bad-angle shot that Lindgren misplayed midway through the first period.
Palmieri stretched the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal at 1:51 of the second period, and Bratt got his 10th of the season with a nearly whiffed shot that still found the back of the net.
Both teams were dealing with a flu bug, with Devils defenseman P.K. Subban, Price, and Canadiens players Victor Mete and Jordan Weal all affected.
Game Notes:
- Kovalchuk and Devils players Andy Greene and Travis Zajac were all members of New Jersey’s 2012 Stanley Cup finalist team.
- New Jersey played without center Nico Hischier and defenseman Sami Vatanen. Hischier had stitches in his knee, and Vatanen took a shot off his foot on Saturday.
- Bratt extended his points streak to four games with an assist on Wood’s goal.
- Devils forward Joey Anderson and defenseman Colton White were recalled from Binghamton (AHL) and made their season debuts.
UP NEXT:
- Canadiens: Return to Montreal to host Anaheim on Thursday night.
- Devils: Travel to Philadelphia on Thursday night. New Jersey is 0-1-1 against the Flyers this season.
