MONTREAL - Martin St. Louis described the game best on Tuesday night.
“It wasn’t an exciting game,” the Montreal Canadiens head coach said.
Michael Pezzetta scored twice as the Canadiens defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-0, earning back-to-back shutouts to open the NHL pre-season.
The Devils, however, travelled to the Bell Centre without most of their NHL regulars and neither team converted on the power play despite earning several opportunities. Montreal went 0-for-8, while New Jersey was 0-for-6.
“The execution wasn’t great,” St. Louis said, before finding a silver lining. “But I think based on our advanced stats we gave up four chances at 5-on-5, we’ve worked on that a lot this week so I’m happy about that.”
Nick Suzuki also scored and defenceman William Trudeau added two assists for Montreal. The Canadiens opened the exhibition season with a 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday with an almost entirely different lineup.
“It’s also not easy for guys to play in back-to-back nights,” St. Louis said as laughs went around the press conference room.
Samuel Montembeault — the Canadiens’ No. 1 goalie entering the season — stopped all 11 shots he faced through 31:28. Backup Connor Hughes saved 13 the rest of the way.
Montreal’s first line of Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky made its pre-season debut but showed rust despite a late goal from the captain.
Jake Allen, who the Canadiens traded to the Devils at last season’s trade deadline, stopped 12 of 13 shots for New Jersey. Nico Daws allowed one goal on 11 shots after entering the game with 12 minutes remaining in the second period.
Pezzetta opened the scoring at 2:42 of the second period, finishing off a tick-tack-toe play with Xavier Simoneau and Trudeau.
The 26-year-old Pezzetta, known more for his hits and fights, scored three goals in 61 games on Montreal’s fourth line last season. He said it felt good to have a big night with so many Canadiens prospects nipping at his heels to crack the lineup.
“I play a different style of game than most of the guys at camp here, but there’s a lot of great young players, and they’re pushing for roster spots,” he said. “You know that they’re coming right?
“I was just super excited to play today, to prove myself, been doing it my whole life.”
After the Canadiens failed to score on a four-minute power play, David Reinbacher appeared to make it 2-0 with a pass from the point that slid between Allen’s pads. The goal, however, was waived off for goalie interference because Simoneau bumped into Allen in the crease.
Later in the period, Slafkovsky missed the net on a wide-open shot from the slot, while Daws denied Caufield on a breakaway.
Owen Beck, who had three shots on goal, couldn’t beat Daws with a one-timer from the low circle early in the third.
“Tonight went well, I think there’s stuff to build on,” said the 20-year-old Beck, who has twice represented Canada at the world junior hockey championship. “I was just trying to not overcomplicate things, I just played the game in front of me, and it worked out pretty well.”
The Canadiens had two full minutes with a 5-on-3 advantage with eight minutes remaining, but still couldn’t make it 2-0. Filip Mesar came close, hitting the post just after the penalties expired.
Suzuki finally broke through with 4:53 remaining, deflecting a hard pass from Trudeau into the back of the net.
Pezzetta added an empty-net goal with 22 seconds left.
“I think Pezz arrives at the rink to defend his spot every day,” St. Louis said. “That’s the mentality he has, you know what you’re gonna get, he always shows up.
“I was happy for him, it was a good effort.”
NOTES
Slovakian skaters Slafkovsky, Mesar and Devils defenceman Simon Nemec posed for a photo at centre ice before puck drop. The three players made history for their country by all going in the first round of the 2022 NHL draft. Slafkovsky and Nemec were first and second overall, while Mesar was 26th. … The Canadiens announced they would provide an update for defenceman Kaiden Guhle on Thursday. Guhle had his appendix removed last week. … Devils defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic returned to the Bell Centre for the first time since the Canadiens traded him for a fourth-round pick this off-season.
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