MONTREAL — Ask most NHL players and they will say there is something special about playing games at Montreal’s Bell Centre, particularly on a Saturday night.
For New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen, a former member of the Montreal Canadiens, those sentiments take on a whole new meaning.
“Obviously, it was important for me to come back here,” said Allen, who made 29 saves in the Devils 4-3 overtime win over the Canadiens on Saturday.
“It was just fun to come back. To get the win is the most important part just for this group. We’re trying to build something here.”
It was Allen’s first regular-season start against Montreal, and first at the Bell Centre, since being traded by the Canadiens to the Devils on trade deadline day last March in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in this year’s NHL draft. Montreal is still paying half of his $3.85 million salary on a contract that expires at the end of this season.
The 34-year-old spent parts of four seasons in Montreal, winning 41 games across 124 starts with a rebuilding Canadiens team. Allen’s tenure in the city also included a trip to the Stanley Cup final during his first season with the team in 2021, although Allen did not play during that playoff run.
Seven players remain from that Canadiens team that lost in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021, many of whom Allen had dinner with Friday night in Montreal. Allen also spent much of last summer training with some of his former teammates at the Canadiens’ practice facility in Brossard, Que.
“It’s a special place for me,” said Allen. “I played four special years here. Me, my wife and my family loved it here. I have a lot of lifelong friends on the other side. I’m glad to see they are playing really well. I’m always secretly cheering for them, but not against us.”
In his first full season with the Devils, the Fredericton, N.B., native has a 7-8-1 record with a 2.67 goals-against average and .904 save percentage. He has struggled, though, in recent weeks, dropping six straight decisions between Nov. 30 and Jan. 18 before picking up wins in his last two appearances.
“He’s been deserving of wins,” said Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe. “He’s just been such a tremendous teammate and he’s played well for us. He battled here tonight. They (Montreal) are not an easy team to play against. They snap the puck around really well and there is a lot of energy and emotion in the building.
"I thought he was great and loved the guys battle in front him to get him the win.”
Allen is in line to see increased playing time over the coming weeks. The Devils’ starting goalie Jacob Markstrom sustained an MCL strain during New Jersey’s 5-1 win over Boston on Wednesday and is expected to miss between four and six weeks of action.
“With Marky out, we were looking for Jake to get off to a good start,” said Jack Hughes, who scored the overtime winner for the Devils. “Obviously, it was in Montreal, too. Really happy for him that he got the win. That’s a good win for our group.”
DEVILS LOSE THEIR CAPTAIN
Devils captain Nico Hischier was unable to finish the game for New Jersey. He was injured on a cross-check from Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki in the second period.
The Swiss centreman, who scored the opening goal of the game for the Devils, played two more shifts after, including one to start the third period, before leaving the game for good.
Keefe said Hischier’s status will be re-evaluated on Sunday ahead of the Devils’ next game in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Monday.
“He’s had a great year,” said Jack Hughes. “If he needs a few days, we have guys that need to step up. We’re a good group and that has got to happen.
"Obviously, losing your captain tonight is a tough go with all the minutes he plays and the faceoffs he takes. Good bounceback for us tonight, but I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2025.
Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press
