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Habs lose fifth straight game

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Habs lose fifth straight game
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot
This afternoon, the Canadiens are in New Jersey to take on the Devils. The club was trying to put an end to a four-game losing streak.

For the occasion, Jayden Struble skipped his turn due to injury.

Johnathan Kovacevic took his place, while Jake Allen stood in front of the Montreal net.

On the Devils’ side, the lineup had been shuffled around quite a bit since the club’s last game.

Here it is in its entirety:

I’ll spare you the “highlights” of a rather boring first period and take you straight to the second, where there was plenty of action.

Early in the period, Josh Anderson had an excellent presence in the offensive zone, showing us once again the player who is capable of being a big power winger in a group of forwards.

Brendan Gallagher also got in on the act, firing a missile on the rebound.

The Devils, on the other hand, hit back shortly afterwards, as Timo Meier brought both teams back to square one.

The Montreal defense completely forgot about Meier in front of the net… and it cost them dearly.

However, the Canadiens’ first trio made sure to restore the lead shortly afterwards, when a clever pass from Cole Caufield allowed Nick Suzuki to score with a good shot.

A special mention goes to Johnathan Kovacevic, who made a wonderful pass to feed Caufield.

Despite all this, the Devils managed to recreate the tie before the end of the second period.

Ondrej Palat pounced on a loose puck in the slot and took advantage of the congestion in front of the net to score his team’s second goal.

After 40 minutes, the score was 2-2.

The third period saw Mike Matheson shoulder Tyler Toffoli.

A tough one, if his usual style is anything to go by.

Then, the Habs nearly saw Jake Evans go down fighting, as he briefly retreated to the dressing room after a sequence in which he appeared to suffer a cut.

The good news is that he only missed a few seconds: he came back very quickly.

Nick Suzuki then took a penalty, and although Jake Allen was (very) solid in front of his team’s net, he eventually gave up.

It was Nico Hischier who gave the Devils their first lead of the game.

Josh Anderson came within millimeters of tying the game, but hit the post hard on a breakaway.

He’s incapable of buying a goal these days, him.

And as Arber Xhekaj tried to recreate the tie with a slapshot, Timo Meier sacrificed himself by blocking a shot that was really powerful.

This allowed Jesper Bratt to launch a counter-attack… and taunt Mike Matheson and Jake Allen to double his team’s lead.

Matheson made amends later, though, as he prevented the Devils from breaking away to score into an empty net.

His act of desperation set the stage for Nick Suzuki’s goal to close the gap.

It wasn’t enough, however, as the Devils managed to hold the fort.

A game the Habs could have won… but in the end, it was an overtime defeat for the Montreal outfit.

Final score: 4-3 New Jersey

The Canadiens return to action on Tuesday night, when the Arizona Coyotes visit the Bell Centre.


Overtime

– The fact that the game was played in the afternoon allowed Slovakia to see Juraj Slafkovský and Simon Nemec in action in prime time (it was 8 p.m. when the game started there). The match was broadcast on national TV… and looking at this video, you’d think that was the goal.

– Still.

– He may not have scored today, but he did collect two assists.

– That’s a good one.

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