The New Jersey Devils face the Montreal Canadiens with both teams looking to build off strong starts to the season. The Devils have a 12-3 record and with a nine-game winning streak, boast the best record in the Metropolitan Division. The Canadiens have an 8-6-1 record and a three-game winning streak has helped them improve in the Atlantic Division. the Devils are looking to remain in first place in the Metropolitan Division while the Canadiens look to make up ground in the Atlantic Division and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Devils are having a great season 3.67 goals per game including 31 goals in the last seven games. Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier have scored 18 goals and 33 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also been great. Tomas Tatar, Nathan Bastian, and Miles Wood have combined for 11 goals and 16 assists while defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Graves have added seven goals and 12 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has also stepped up, allowing only 2.53 goals per game. Jonas Seigenthaler and Ryan Graves have combined for 2.9 defensive point shares and 41 blocked shots while John Marino and Dougie Hamilton have combined for 2.0 defensive point shares to give the Devils two great defensive pairings. In addition, goaltender Vitek Vanecek is having a great season in the net with a .909 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average on 198 shots.