Marc Dumont
The Montreal Canadiens hosted the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night, aiming to push their winning streak to nine games.
Heading into Sunday, the Habs knew all they needed to qualify for the playoffs was to beat the Devils in their second game versus the club in as many nights, however, the Detroit Red Wings clarified the playoff situation before they took to the ice.
By losing 5-4 to the Minnesota Wild, the Red Wings ensured the Canadiens officially qualified for the 2026 NHL Playoffs.
This led to an unsurprising lack of punch from the Habs, who dropped a 3-0 decision to the Devils.
For the view from the other side of the rink, don’t forget to visit our sister site, New Jersey Hockey Now.
Let’s dive into the highlights!
Slow Start
The Habs managed to generate just two high-danger chances at 5v5 through 40 minutes of play, while allowing the Devils to take six high-quality shots.
Consequently, the Devils established a two-goal lead heading into the second intermission, powered by goals from Timo Meier and Cody Glass.
The latter scored a particularly nice goal stemming from a strong individual effort.
On a solo mission. pic.twitter.com/TXk9ToOXut
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 6, 2026
Sparks Fly
Montreal’s energy level improved early in the third period, following a nasty hit by Zachary Bolduc that angered Luke Hughes.
The chaotic play led to a Canadiens powerplay, not to mention a rather questionable decision by Hughes to start throwing punches when Bolduc was wrapped up by a linesman.
Unfortunately, the Habs failed to capitalize on the powerplay, putting a quick end to the brief uptick in excitement. Even though the Canadiens lacked punch for most of the game, they wasted three opportunities to score with the man advantage, eliminating any chance for yet another late-game comeback.
Luke Hughes throwing punches at Bolduc while he was tied up by the linesman. Not a great look. pic.twitter.com/SLLsQf6lIX
— Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) April 6, 2026
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Tuesday, facing the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.
