It was a hectic and frantic finish to what was — somehow — an exciting and high-paced game between two distinctly defensive teams.
And Wednesday night at the Prudential Center it had to come down to a shootout before the Canadiens finally could put away the Devils, 4-3. The game-winner in the skills competition came from David Desharnais in the second round, beating Cory Schneider low between the legs and ending Schneider's personal three-game winning streak.
The Devils haven't won a shootout this season.
The third period was a mess of emotion, as the Devils had fought through some offensive frustration and finally gained a 2-1 lead after a Michael Ryder goal with just over 10 minutes remaining. Yet that lead lasted just over five minutes, until Lars Eller managed to sneak a backhand through Schneider's legs to tie it, 2-2.
There was just 4:50 remaining in the game, and even then it seemed destined for overtime. But with 1:06 left in regulation, it was Montreal All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban giving the Devils a gift, turning the puck over to Patrik Elias near the left dot, and Elias buried a wrist shot over Peter Budaj's right shoulder. Yet how fleeting that feeling of success was. Because with just 37 seconds left, Desharnais redirected a long, high shot from former Devil Brian Gionta, tying it 3-3 and created a wave of disappointment through the crowd.
"We're looking for answers in order to win consistently," coach Pete DeBoer said before the game. "If you look at the last 15-20 games, and throw out the first 10, we found a way, I think, to compete consistently and find a way to win games. I don't think it's an accident we started plugging those guys in the lineup, things started to happen in a positive sense in that way."
The Devils (11-12-6) had lost 3-2 in Montreal on Tuesday, but had won the two games before that, and eight of the previous 12. The Canadiens (17-9-3) came in as one of the hottest teams in the league, having won five of their past six and taking at least one point in 10 of their previous 11, getting them to third in the conference behind just the Penguins and Bruins.
The Devils pushed hard in the second, but still couldn't close the 1-0 lead the Canadiens had built up in the first. Though great chances were had by Jaromir Jagr and then Adam Henrique on a shorthanded breakaway, the Devils finished the period having out-attempted the Canadiens, 39-29, and still came away empty-handed.
It was a bit of a surprise how open the game was in the first period, with the Canadiens outshooting the Devils, 13-9. Montreal came in ranked second in the league in goals-against (2.00 per game), while the Devils were ranked seventh (2.25). Though there were scoring chances aplenty, the only one that was converted came from Gionta, who redirected a great cross-ice feed from Danny Briere past Schneider at the 10:36 mark, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
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