Pregame Notes: 12/8 Devils at Canadiens

DEVILS VS. CANADIENS
Tonight is the first of three games between the Devils and Canadiens this season and the sole match to be played at Bell Centre. The clubs will meet next on Jan. 20 at Prudential Center before playing their season-series finale Feb. 27 in New Jersey.
Tonight is also opens the Devils' fifth of 18 sets of back-to-back games. New Jersey is 1-1-2 in first games of back-to-backs and 3-0-1 in the second contest.
The Devils are 4-3-3 vs. the Atlantic Division and are 6-3-4 against Eastern Conference opponents this season. The Devils are 2-3-0 at Bell Centre and are 3-4-2 vs. Montreal overall since the 2013-14 season.
Adam Henrique has four points (2g-2a) in his last three games vs. the Canadiens. Beau Bennett's has more points vs. Montreal (2g-5a-7pts) than any other opponent.

CANADIENS CONNECTIONS
Michael Cammalleri played three seasons with Montreal from 2009-12…Devante Smith-Pelly played in 66 games for the Habs between 2014-16, scoring 7g-8a-15pts…New Jersey traded Stefan Matteau to acquire Smith-Pelly on Feb. 29, 2016. Matteau played in 44 games for the Devils between 2013-16, scoring 3g-2a-5pts…P.A. Parenteau, a Hull, Que. native, skated in 56 games with Montreal in 2014-15…Assistant Coach Alain Nasreddine was born in Montreal; he played eight games for the Canadiens during the 1998-99 season…Nasreddine also saw action for both Quebec and Hamilton of the AHL during the 1999-00 campaign…Consultant Jacques Laperriere played his entire Hall-of-Fame career with the Canadiens and was a member of six Stanley Cup Championship teams…IceCaps' forward Bobby Farnham skated in 50 games with New Jersey in 2015-16…Canadiens' Associate Coach Kirk Muller played seven seasons with the Devils from 1984-91, served as captain for four seasons from 1987-1991 and ranks third in team history with 185g-335a-520pts.