MTL@NJD: Game recap

MONTREAL - The Canadiens exploded for seven goals at Prudential Center on Thursday, beating the New Jersey Devils by a score of 7-4.

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With Paul Byron and Justin Barron staying home in Montreal, Tyler Pitlick, Kale Clague, and Chris Wideman drew back into the lineup. Jordan Harris was a healthy scratch.
Jake Allen got the start in goal.
Nick Suzuki opened the scoring for Montreal, accepting a cross-ice pass from Rem Pitlick and wristing it past Andrew Hammond for his 19th of the season at 4:35 of the first.
Pitlick and Cole Caufield earned assists on the play.

Then, Jake Evans doubled the Habs' lead with a slapshot from the point a little over two minutes later. It was Evans' 10th goal of 2021-22, with Corey Schueneman picking up the assist.

New Jersey got on the board a half-minute afterwards, however, when former Hab Tomas Tatar beat Allen to make it a 2-1 game.
Caufield padded Montreal's lead again when Suzuki sent him on a breakaway, with the NHL's Rookie of the Month for March finishing the job for his 17th of the season at the 13:44 mark.

The Canadiens headed to the room with a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes, while the Devils held a 12-8 edge in shots.
The second period was a largely scoreless affair until AJ Greer beat Allen on a wraparound with exactly five minutes to go in the frame.
One minute and 20 seconds later, Joel Armia picked up the puck in the high slot and wristed it through traffic to give the Habs another two-goal lead. It was his fifth of the season, with assists from Wideman and Brendan Gallagher.

After two periods, the Canadiens once again were leading by two goals, and New Jersey outshot Montreal 15-7 in the second.
The Habs didn't wait long to add to their lead in the third, with Wideman beating Hammond with a point shot only 86 seconds into the period. It was his fourth of the season, with Clague and Christian Dvorak earning the assists.

Just 15 seconds later, Wideman sprung Dvorak for a breakaway with a pass from the Montreal blue line, with Dvorak beating Hammond top-corner to bring the score to 6-2.

That would end Hammond's night, with Nico Daws taking his place in the New Jersey net.
Ty Smith reduced the Habs' lead to three 27 seconds after the Dvorak tally.
Then, just past the halfway mark of the period, Jesper Bratt made it a two-goal game with his 23rd of the year.
But Clague picked up his third point of the night when he pinched and beat Daws with a sharp-angle shot to his right.
Gallagher and Dvorak got the apples on the marker.

Allen made 33 saves to help secure the win.
The Canadiens head for Toronto following the game. They'll take on the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.