After a seesaw battle where both teams got the best of one another, the New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens needed overtime after both scoring three games. One of the the big takeaways was that both the Devils and the Canadiens played a very even defensive matchup.
Goalie Keith Kinkaid tried to get the last laugh in his first career start against his former team. On the contrary good fortunes, defense and puck luck came Mackenzie Blackwood’s way. Nikita Gusev got the scoring going in the first period. Nico Hischier scored on a two-man rush sniping one past Kinkaid. Near the end of the period veteran winger Wayne Simmonds got the tying goal on a power play.
After that Simmonds goal was cashed in, Montreal’s Phillip Danault seemed to have scored around the 19 minute mark, seemingly sealing the Devils fate. When you look at the replay, there were many things to look at. Danault was over the goal line and he moved the puck with his knee, and on top of all that, Nico Hischier dove trying to keep the puck out. With the war room in Toronto getting the call, they ruled that Danault gave a distinct kicking motion with his knee into the net. The Danault goal was finally waved off.
Going into overtime, it seemed that the Devils first 3-on-3 pairing looked very determined to get the job finished. Philip Danault was penalized in overtime. This penalty gave the Devils a power play. Guys like Kyle Palmieri haven’t had the chance to shine in the extra minutes after overtime and shootout losses thus far. This gave him his chance.
The momentum going into the Devils overtime led to Kyle Palmieri getting a beautiful set up and pounded a shot for the game winner. The Devils played more as a team in an effort versus a likely playoff-bound Montreal Canadiens roster. It seemed the Devils were destined for very good things to happen.
This was a super weird yet interesting game that lead up to one of the weirdest comebacks of the season. Puck luck and extra minute success occurred organically where Kyle Palmieri and the Devils got the final laugh beating Kinkaid in over time. The Devils played very well against a team that should have been a lot tougher but the Devils answered and rung the bell at the Bell Center.