Caufield breaks tie late in 3rd period to lift Canadiens over Devils 3-2

NEWARK, N.J. -

(AP) -- Cole Caufield put in a rebound with 4:31 to play and the Montreal Canadiens beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Wednesday night after squandering a two-goal lead early in the third period.

Juraj Slafkovsky and Joshua Roy also scored as the Canadiens won their second straight and improved to 4-2-2 in their last eight games. Sam Montembeault made 28 saves.

Luke Hughes and Alexander Holtz scored power-play goals for New Jersey in the opening 1:37 of the third to tie it. Nico Daws stopped 22 shots in his third consecutive start.

Daws made the initial stop on a drive by Jordan Harris. Sean Monahan, who had two assists, nudged the puck closer to the net and Caufield swatted it over the goal line.

Trailing 2-0 late in the second period, the Devils caught a break when Nick Suzuki was called for a double minor for high-sticking defenseman Kevin Bahl.

New Jersey didn't score in the final 45 seconds of the period, but Hughes and Holtz connected on the power play to tie the game.

Hughes' shot from the point appeared to deflect off the leg of Montreal forward Jake Evans past Montembeault. Holtz got his 11th of the season on a shot from the top of the left circle.

The Canadiens scored first when Daws made a mistake playing the puck and it led to Caufield setting up Slafkovsky in front. It was his sixth goal of the season and second in two games.

Roy, a fifth-round draft pick in 2021 who was playing his third NHL game, doubled the margin with a slam dunk in front after being set up by Monahan. It was his first NHL goal and Monahan was quick to grab the puck for the 20-year-old.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Play at Ottawa on Thursday.

Devils: Play at Columbus on Friday.