Caufield has 2 points, Canadiens recover for win against Devils

Caufield scored on a rebound from the slot at 15:29 of the third period to give Montreal a 3-2 lead. Luke Hughes and Alexander Holtz tied it 2-2 for New Jersey with consecutive power-play goals in the opening 1:38 of the period.

Juraj Slafkovsky and Joshua Roy scored, and Sean Monahan had two assists for the Canadiens (19-18-7), who have won two straight following three losses. Sam Montembeault made 28 saves in his sixth start in nine games.

Luke Hughes and Holtz scored, and Nico Daws made 22 saves in his third straight start for the Devils (22-17-3), who are 1-3-1 in their past five games. Timo Meier had an assist in his return after missing six games with a mid-body injury sustained in a 5-2 loss at the Boston Bruins on Dec. 30.

Slafkovsky gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 12:48 of the first period after scoring on a shot from the slot. The goal came 30 seconds after Montembeault denied Meier on a wrist shot in front of the net.

Roy scored extended it to 2-0 at 14:45 of the second period on a snap shot from the high slot off a 2-on-1 with Monahan. It was Roy’s first NHL goal in his third career game.

Luke Hughes cut it to 2-1 on a wrist shot 47 seconds into the third on the power play, scoring from the right point through a screen provided by Meier. Holtz tied it 2-2 at 1:38 with another power-play goal on a slap shot from the top of the left face-off circle.

Montembeault made 10 saves in the second. He denied a backhand attempt by Erik Haula on a breakaway attempt at 7:39 and turned away Nico Hischier alone at the right post during a Devils power play at 19:23.

The game was the first meeting between the Nos. 1-2 picks in the 2022 NHL Draft, fellow Slovakia-born countrymen Slafkovsky (No. 1) and Devils defenseman Simon Nemec.