*Photo from the New York Daily News*
No one, quite literally no one, has been able to stop the New Jersey Devils right now. Jack Hughes had a two goal game, Dougie Hamilton added a goal and an assist, and the Devils defeated the Montreal Canadiens with a 5-1 victory on Tuesday night in Montreal.
They had gotten off to a slow start with a 3-3-0 record in their first 6 games. Since then, they have been on quite a roll, running their current win streak to 10 games, their record now 13-3-0. The Devils now have the second best record in the Eastern Conference and are tied for second best in the NHL.
Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler said of the game that "We knew they wanted to attack from our mistakes. We just tried to limit our mistakes and have good gaps against them and give them nothing, be close to them, don't even give them a shot, and I think we were pretty good tonight."
After a scoreless first period, Hughes got the Devils on the board with a power play goal to make it 1-0 early in the second period. At the 6:06 mark of the second, Hamilton scored unassisted to double the lead to 2-0 on his 5th goal of the season. Evgenii Dadonov scored to get the Canadiens on the board before Hughes scored again to make it 3-1 Devils after two periods.
Later on in the 3rd period, Jesper Bratt scored his 6th goal of the season 12:19 into the final period, making the Devils lead 4-1 with assists from Hughes and Dawson Mercer. With the net empty and 4 seconds left in regulation, John Marino scored to pad the Devils lead to 5-1, this being an unassisted goal.
Bratt said of Hughes' play that he "Really stayed with it the whole game and he played really good with the puck. And he was creating a lot, especially on the power play there, he was willing to shoot. And he was a big threat for us all game and he really shows what kind of player he is when he gets the chance to make something happen."
Vitek Vanecek made his return from injury to start for the Devils and put together a great outing. Vanecek saved 25 of the 26 shots the Canadiens sent on goal, recording a .962 save percentage as his record improved to 7-1-0 in 8 starts.
On the other end, Jake Allen was in net for the Canadiens, who took the loss. Allen turned aside 34 out of the 38 shots on goal from the Devils, posting a .895 save percentage. Allen's record now sits at 5-6-0 in 11 starts so far this season.
Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said that "We knew they were playing well. They're a fast team, they're up and down the ice real quick, and I think we couldn't really find solutions early. We were on our heels a lot, playing in our own zone, and it's not a good recipe for us."
Up next, the Devils remain in Canada for a Thursday showdown against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Vanecek the likely starter. Allen is in line to start for the Canadiens when they travel to the U.S. to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
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