In a rather lackluster performance on Tuesday night, Montreal Canadiens head coach, Martin St. Louis, summed up the game by stating, “It wasn’t an exciting game.” Despite the subdued atmosphere, Michael Pezzetta managed to score twice as the Canadiens secured a 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils, marking their second consecutive shutout to kick off the NHL pre-season.
The Devils, on the other hand, came into the Bell Centre with a lineup missing most of their NHL regulars. Despite multiple power play opportunities for both teams, neither side could capitalize on the man advantage, with Montreal going 0-for-8 and New Jersey going 0-for-6.
St. Louis acknowledged the lackluster execution of the teams, but found a positive note by pointing out, “Based on our advanced stats we gave up four chances at 5-on-5. We’ve worked on that a lot this week so I’m happy about that.”
Nick Suzuki also got on the scoresheet alongside defenseman William Trudeau, who contributed two assists for Montreal. The Canadiens, who had previously secured a 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in their exhibition opener, fielded a completely different lineup for this matchup.
“It’s also not easy for guys to play in back-to-back nights,” St. Louis mentioned, lightening the mood in the press conference room.
Samuel Montembeault, slated as the Canadiens’ starting goalie for the upcoming season, managed to stop all 11 shots he faced during his time in the net. Backup Connor Hughes took over and saved 13 shots for the rest of the game.
The Canadiens’ first line of Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky made their pre-season debut, displaying signs of rust despite a late goal scored by the captain.
In a unique twist, former Canadiens goalie Jake Allen, who was traded to the Devils at last season’s trade deadline, faced his former team and managed to make 12 saves on 13 shots. Nico Daws took over in net for New Jersey and allowed one goal on 11 shots after coming in with 12 minutes left in the second period.
