3 Takeaways From Canadiens’ 4-3 Shootout Loss – Hockey Writers – New Jersey Devils
When the New Jersey Devils came out for warmups, they were treated to a playoff-type atmosphere. If you’re confused as to why, it’s the noise of Montreal Canadiens fans, who go the best way to see their team fight for a better spot in the Atlantic Division.
With two singles between two fans and a high-octane offense, the Canadiens had the last laugh, winning a thrilling five-round shootout to secure a 4-3 victory.
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Juiced Up Atmosphere
Canadiens fans have been going out in droves, but tonight’s set-up made for the most extreme showing of any contest they’ve had in Newark in a long time (if ever):
It was Saturday, Cole Caufield was one goal out of 50, and the Habs were four points behind with a game in hand. Habs fans have been singing before the warm-up.
Montreal has one of the most passionate fans in the league and they always go very well.
Just allow this #GoHabsGo the song from the warmups speaks for itself.
They followed it with the song “Olé, Olé, Olé”.
Is the #NJDevils spoil their fun!? pic.twitter.com/xhMKJHPCGr
— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) April 4, 2026
The noise level rose tenfold when the Devils staged a 3-0 comeback to tie it and send it into overtime. The extra session was as impressive as they come, with plenty of chances going both ways.
Not only was it good for Devils fans to hear this crazy situation in a lost season, but the players also fed themselves.
“It was a bad game,” Devils forward Jake Allen said after the game. “Their fans were in it. Our fans were in it. It was probably the most fun we’ve had in the building because of the noise of the crowd this year. It was a fun game to play. Obviously we came up short but we showed resilience.”
“It’s good for our guys to give our side of the crowd something to be excited about until the end,” added head coach Sheldon Keefe. “It was a great game. Fun atmosphere, two teams playing hard.”
Meier – Hischier – Mercer Line Excels
With so much to say about the incredible success of Jack Hughes’ line, the trio of Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer have been sneaky strong – and they were again tonight. In 14:03 total, they outscored a strong Canadiens team 13-4, holding 81.6% of the expected goal share on the ice.
Mercer’s goal when the Devils were down 3-0 was what got the team – and the Devils fans in the crowd – back on track. If it weren’t for the lack of finishing, the streak would have been a few goals, though Meier made a 6-on-5 goal to send it into overtime.
That shot was bad! 😮💨
Dawson Mercer turns on the light of the @NJDevils!
📺: @ Sports & @TVASEsport ➡️ pic.twitter.com/mzfnn7Oyow
— NHL (@NHL) April 5, 2026
“They’ve been pretty good for a long time,” Keefe said. “Especially since then [Arseny] Gritsyuk is out, we’re kind of a two-line team. Those guys were really carrying us, and they were asking us a lot: big minutes, difficult encounters,” he continued.
The Fourth Line Continues to Struggle
The Devils called up both Marc McLaughlin and Brian Halonen in the hopes that the change will bring out the best in a fourth line that has struggled for most of the season.
“[This] The opportunity presented itself because we didn’t like the way the fourth line looked or played,” said Keefe this morning on NJD.TV.” Unfortunately the Devils struggled.
According to Moneypuck, in the waning minutes, the new-look fourth line that included the call-ups and Paul Cotter didn’t register a single shot on goal (0-5) or shot attempt (0-9). For both McLaughlin and Halonen, it had been months since they’d seen any NHL action, so they looked rusty.
It wouldn’t be fair to judge someone’s play too much on such a small sample, but later in 2025-26, the Devils have yet to find a consistent fourth line for anything more than a few games at a time. It should go without saying that it is very difficult to win a string together when a team cannot successfully roll four lines.
Moving Forward
Grab your popcorn. The Devils – now 39-34-3 – will get another crack at the Habs tomorrow as they travel to Montreal, tomorrow night at 7:00 PM EDT.
