NJD@MTL: No sympathy for the Devils

MONTREAL - The Canadiens wanted to send their fans home happy in their final home game of 2017, and send them home happy they did, ending a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.

Things weren't so rosy from the get-go, however. The Habs once again allowed their opponents to strike early, with Stefan Noesen opening the scoring just 1:21 after puck drop, but the duel was evenly matched and the home squad even things up before the opening frame was through.
"We started a little slow, but we tied things up and got going," described Andrew Shaw. "We got some penalties, but we worked hard and competed, we blocked shots, we got pucks out when we needed to and we found a way to win in overtime."
In fact, it was Shaw who provided his team with the equalizer, tipping in a Jordie Benn shot from the point to score in his 100th game as a Canadien, making it his 20th goal in bleu-blanc-rouge.

The significance of the achievement was not lost on the 26-year-old, although he was more concerned with the group effort than counting personal milestones.
"It's pretty special. The team played hard, the P.K. was great tonight - blocking shots, working for one another," added Shaw, who now sits tied for fourth in team scoring with 16 points this season. "We outworked their power play."
For the second time in three games, the Habs dug themselves into some 5-on-3 penalty trouble when Karl Alzner joined Byron Froese in the box midway through his minor for tripping in the second.
Against both the Devils and Calgary Flames - the latter taking place back exactly a week before - Montreal was able to kill off the two-man advantage and use it as a momentum boost, although this time, the Habs would convert their penalty-kill success into two points in the standings.
"When you're defending a 5-on-3, the word 'desperation' often comes to mind," explained head coach Claude Julien. "In situations like those, you don't have a choice, there are five players ahead of you who are making passes and you have no choice but to block shots to kill off the penalties. That's exactly what the guys did there."
Although Carey Price offered up another strong, 31-save performance in the win, Benn thought he'd try his hand at some goaltending himself while his team was down two men, helping the veteran backstop fend off the hungry Devils from the crease.
"I got asked if I got credited for a few blocked shots. I have no idea if the puck even hit me," described Benn, who was indeed credited with three blocked shots on the 5-on-3. "We were in a pretty big scramble and I saw Pricey just laying there. If they had the puck, they were going to go high, so I thought if I slid in behind him and get in the way, I could. I think Pricey got all of those ones."
After a 13-shot third period couldn't help the Habs decide things in regulation, Charles Hudon came to the rescue in the 3-on-3 overtime. Hudon skated the puck in all the way from his own blue line and drew all three Devils players towards him on the boards and somehow managed to feed the puck to a wide-open Tomas Plekanec, who netted the winner.

"I told myself I needed to win my battle. In overtime, 3-on-3, a giveaway can cost you the game," outlined Hudon. "I just wanted to stay with the puck. Pleky was alone in the slot, so it was an easy goal for him.
"I saw him coming. I knew Chucky [Alex Galchenyuk] was going to change, so I waited until one of our guys was in the slot. The three guys came for me and it turned out well."
The man with the game-winner gave all the credit to No. 54, and rightfully so.
"It was pretty much his goal," praised Plekanec. "He won that battle on the boards, a very smart play by him."
With their three-game losing streak behind them, the Canadiens hope that when they play their next game at home 19 days from now, they'll be able to look back at their win over New Jersey as the first of many.
"It was big, especially after we lost the last three games, we wanted to bounce back and make sure we started tonight on a winning note and get back to the winning side," concluded Plekanec. "We want to make sure we keep going on Saturday."