The New Jersey Devils have a tough test in the Montreal Canadiens and they are likely going to be facing an old friend when they head up north.
The New Jersey Devils are a weird team. They blew a third period lead to the Ottawa Senators, who have the worst roster in the National Hockey League. Then a couple of days later, they play the Pittsburgh Penguins and defeat them despite being severely outplayed. The Penguins are also a much better team than Ottawa, but goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood stole the show.
The Penguins were missing Sidney Crosby, yet they still have Evgeni Malkin, who somehow historically elevates his game even further when Crosby is out of the lineup. Nico Hischier had that assignment and he kept Geno completely off the board. The team as a whole didn’t have a great game, but Hischier paced the team in shots along with Taylor Hall. They weren’t perfect by any means, and this team needs them to be great in order to win more than they lose.
Now, the Devils are off to play the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Back to backs with travel are never ideal, but that is the case here. Carey Price started in net for Montreal in their impressive 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals. That means the Devils should see their old friend, Keith Kinkaid. He was a member of the Devils for parts of six seasons. In 151 games played he had a record of 64-55-17. With Price playing 24 hours earlier, we expect him to have his first start against his former team.
Kinkaid took a lot of criticism at the end of his tenure with the New Jersey Devils. The fact still remains that there were some good times with him. Hall gets a lot of credit for getting the Devils into the playoffs in 2018, but there is no doubt that Kinkaid playing well in goal had a lot to do with it. This will be the first time that he has ever faced New Jersey so we will see how he does.
There is the thought that Keith Kinkaid will know how the Devils shooters think but there are also the Devils shooters that know where to shoot on him. This is a huge game for the Devils to try and win their second in a row. If they can get a win here while playing the right way, it could go a long way in their progress this season. Saturday night in Montreal could be fun for New Jersey if it goes their way.