The Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils haven't crossed paths in many important moments, but their all-time series has been close. They played a total of 175 games against each other, counting the regular season and a five-game playoff series. The Canadiens have an overall record of 82-81-10-2.
The Devils have been dominant over the Canadiens recently, as Montreal doesn't have a winning record against New Jersey since the 2016-17 season. The Canadiens swept the season series that year, winning all three games, the last in a five-year stretch where Montreal had a winning record.
The Canadiens and Devils played one game so far this season, and New Jersey won 5-3 at home. The Devils took an early 2-0 lead in the first period before Alex Newhook and Brendan Gallagher cut the lead in the second. However, Jonas Siegenthaler also scored to give New Jersey a 3-2 lead.
Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt scored in the third period to answer Alex Newhook's second goal of the game, which gave the Devils the 5-3 victory. The Canadiens' defense looked good in this game, but Sam Montembeault allowed four goals on 26 shots. It was one of the games this season which left Habs fans wondering what was wrong with the team.
Canadiens-Devils Playoff History
The Canadiens and Devils have an extensive regular season history, but they played just one playoff series in their history. It was during the Devils' dynasty, as New Jersey won the first round matchup in five games to advance to the second round of the 1997 playoffs.
The Devils won three straight games to start the series by scores of 5-2, 4-1, and 6-4. The fourth game was historic, as the teams went three overtimes before Patrice Brisebois scored the winner to push the series back to New Jersey. However, Martin Brodeur earned a shutout against his hometown team to win the series.
Mark Recchi led the team in points, with four goals and two assists in five games. Saku Koivu also had a breakout performance in his 22-year-old season, with four points in five games. Jose Theodore took over in Game 4 and earned a .935 save percentage, stopping 101 of 108 shots to battle Brodeur.