The team improved to 7-5-2 at Prudential Center and, at 17-9-4 (38PTS), trail Columbus and Washington for the Metropolitan Division lead by just one point.
New Jersey scored on the man-advantage once in two opportunities for the first time in four games, Dec. 2-9 (0-11). They were 3-3 on the penalty kill and have eliminated 30-33 (90.9%) man-advantage chances over their last 10 games.
Taylor Hall led the way with two goals (PP/GW, EV) for his second multi-goal game of the season. He now has 31PTS (11G-20A) and has surpassed the 30-point mark in each of his eight NHL seasons. His power play marker in the first period was the eventual game-winner. Hall suffered a right-knee contusion during the third period and did not return. He did not make the trip to Montreal.
Travis Zajac scored the game's first goal, his second goal of the season, at 13:44 of the first period. At 157G, he trails Petr Sykora (166G) by nine goals for the seventh all-time in franchise history.
Brian Gibbons also had a two-point game (1G-1A) for his second multi-point effort of 2017-18. Gibbons notched his league leading third shorthanded goal (tie; A. Barkov - FLA, E. Kane - BUF) with just 11 seconds remaining in the final period. He is the first Devil since Jacob Josefson (2014-15) to score three shorthanded goals in a season. He also had the primary assist on Zajac's goal. Blake Coleman had the secondary assist on Zajac's tally. He has points in three-consecutive games (1G-2A) for the first time in his NHL career.
Brian Boyle, notched his sixth goal of the campaign against his former club and has five goals in his last nine games.
Will Butcher notched his 18th assist (20PTS), his 11th on the power play, which leads all NHL rookies. He is the first Devil in team history to reach the 20-point-mark in his first 30 career games. Barry Beck (15G-13A, 1977-78) and Tapio Levo (8G-21A, 1981-82) did so with the Colorado Rockies.
Jesper Bratt also had a helper tonight on Hall's goal. He is tied with Nico Hischier and Butcher with 20 points on the season for third on the club.
Cory Schneider's shutout bid was ended at 12:04 of the third period. He stopped 25 of 26 for fourth win in his past five starts.
TOMORROW'S GAME @ MONTREAL
Tonight is the first of three meetings between the Devils and Canadiens this season. The clubs will face-off again on March 6 at Prudential Center before finishing their season-series on April 1 at Bell Centre.
New Jersey ranks first in the NHL with 22 road-points (tie; STL) and is undefeated in regulation, 5-0-1, on the road vs. Atlantic Division opponents. The club is 7-1-2 overall vs. the Atlantic and is 9-4-2 vs. all Eastern Conference opponents.
The Devils are 2-4-0 at Bell Centre since the 2013-14 season (last win; Nov. 28, 2015, 3-2 Wo) but are 28-27-5 in Montreal since the franchise settled in New Jersey. In 2016-17, the club was held to just win-less, 0-2-1, against the Canadiens for the first time since 1988-89 (0-3-0). Tomorrow opens the Devils' eighth of 16 sets of back-to-back games this season. They are 5-2-0 in first games and are 4-3-0 in second games that fall on consecutive dates. New Jersey will face the Dallas Stars on Friday at Prudential Center at 7PM.
Cory Schneider is expected to make the start in goal for the Devils. He is 1-2-3 with a 2.89 GAA and a .908 save% vs. MTL in six career games (all with NJD).
