Jakub Dobes suffers first setback of the season

Let’s just say that the two goaltenders didn’t start the game in the best of ways. They each allowed a goal on the first shot.

Cody Glass opened the scoring quickly and Kirby Dach tied it a minute later.

It was Dach’s fourth goal of the season in his 11th game, but more importantly, his third goal in his last two. Noah Dobson and Mike Matheson picked up assists on the sequence.

It wasn’t the finest goal of Dach’s career, but the important thing was that the puck was in the net.

In the first period, Dobes was the goaltender most challenged by the opposition, with eight shots directed at him. Jakob Markstrom, meanwhile, faced four shots.

The second period was slightly quieter in the goal column, but both teams took far more shots than they did in the first. The Habs fired eight shots (as opposed to four), while the Devils fired 12 (as opposed to eight).

Ondrej Palat was the only scorer in the second period thanks to a beautiful blind pass from Simon Nemec.

After 40 minutes of play, the score was 2-1 in favor of the Devils.

The Canadiens stunned the Devils early in the third with a goal from Jake Evans, who beat Jack Hughes (no less) to tie the game. Josh Anderson and Noah Dobson were credited with assists on the goal.

Oliver Kapanen is really enjoying his first NHL season. He decided to add to his tally by scoring his 5th goal of the season, moving him into first place among rookie scorers this season.

Alex Newhook picked up an assist on Kapanen’s goal.

Ivan Demidov is close behind with four goals (in addition to leading all rookies in points with 12).

With just over a minute to play in the final period, Timo Meier tied the game.

Off to overtime.

Although the Habs are extremely dominant at three-on-three, the Devils are no pushovers in terms of raw talent.

Jesper Bratt created a turnover and broke free. He outwitted Dobes by slipping the puck between the Czech goalie’s pads to give the Devils their 10th win of the season. It was Dobes’ first setback of the season.

Final score: 4-3.

The Habs’ next game is on Saturday night, when the surprising Utah Mammoth visit the Habs at the Bell Centre.

Extended

– Kirby Dach had an excellent game overall. Not only did he score his third goal in three periods, but he was involved in every facet of the game. He and Zachary Bolduc make an excellent duo. When will we see a line-up – Bolduc-Dach-Demidov?

– Noah Dobson also had a strong game. The Habs rookie has six points in his last six games. The defensive duo of Mike Matheson and Dobson is excellent this year.

– Once again, the Habs were outshot (28-19 in favor of the Devils).