Hischier, Devils Top Canadiens | GAME STORY

Devils captain Nico Hischier picked up a goal and assist as New Jersey defeated Montreal, 3-1, at Bell Centre Saturday night.
Nathan Bastian and Tomas Tatar also scored for the Devils.
Denis Gurianov had the lone Habs goal.
"I liked the way we came out. Real good puck possession in the first period," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "I thought the energy was good. I thought we played well. I thought we made one mistake we gave them a breakaway where they got in between us. I thought we played a pretty solid defensive game.
"We made a big mistake on their goal to give them a little bit of life. We know we're going to play a lot of tough games. You have to get by that and make the right plays and play the right way. I thought for the most part we did that."

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The Devils return home for a Metro showdown against Carolina. The game can be seen on MSGSN and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
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Here are some observations from the game...
- The Tatar - Hischier - Mercer line continues to produce at an unbelievable clip. They started the game by winning the opening faceoff and spending the next 98 seconds in the offensive zone. Their zone dominance didn't end there. All night they skated circles around the opposition like the Harlem Globetrotters.

Hischier picked up his 28th goal of the season late in the first period with Mercer assisting on the play. Tatar sealed it with an empty-net tally in the third period with 90 seconds remaining In the past 11 games - since the line was formed - the threesome has combined for 42 points (20g-22a): Tatar (3g-6a-9pts), Hischier (7-7-14), Mercer (10-9-19).

"(Hischier) is a very skilled guy. I think his limits are very high," Tatar said. "I'm very happy to be a part of it. He's playing a great two-way game. He's great offensively so is Dawson. Our chemistry is clicking a lot so it's a lot of fun."

- Speaking of Mercer, he extended his career-long scoring streak to 12 games for 20 points (11g-9a). Not only is it the longest streak for the team this season, it's the longest streak in franchise history for a player 22 years old or younger (Brendan Shanahan, 11 games, 1989-90, 21 years, 65 days). - Bastian scored his sixth goal of the season in one of the wildest sequences you'll see. Bastian dumped the puck in just inside the blue line while three Canadiens players were converging on him. Somehow, Bastian leaped out of the way and all three Habs players collided and fell to the ice. The puck went behind the net where Miles Wood forced a turnover by Kaiden Guhle. Bastian stole the loose puck, turned and fired at the inside post for the game's opening goal. - Goaltender Akira Schmid made back-to-back starts for the first time in his career. And he picked up back-to-back wins in those starts, stopping 24 shots against the Canadiens for the W. - Damon Severson helped setup Hischier's goal with a great slap-pass from the circle right. It was his 197th career helper, tying Andy Greene for fifth place in franchise history.