Canadiens forward Cole Caufield, who has 49 goals this season, was held off the score sheet in his bid to become Montreal’s first 50-goal scorer since Stephane Richer scored 51 in 1989-90.
“Every time he was on the ice, the fans started to cheer, so you can’t really hide it out there,” Markstrom said. “They were obviously looking for him a lot. Not only is he looking for his 50th, but if he’s looking for his first of the year he’s still a dangerous shooter and a dangerous player.”
Meier put the Devils up 1-0 at 10:47 of the first period. Hughes’ shot from the left dot trickled through Fowler’s pads, and Meier poked the rebound over the goal line.
Glass pushed the Devils’ lead to 2-0 at 18:12 of the second period. He gathered the puck in the neutral zone, split the defense, and snapped a shot from the right circle through Fowler’s five-hole.
“I finally got a puck with speed and just kind of saw an opening,” Glass said.
Hughes got his second assist when Brown shot into an empty net with 3:25 remaining for the 3-0 final. The New Jersey center has nine points (three goals, six assists) during a three-game point streak, and 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his past five games.
NOTES: The Devils have won 11 straight road games in Montreal, the longest road streak against the Canadiens in NHL history. … It was Hughes’ 122nd multipoint game, which moved him ahead of teammate Jesper Bratt for sole possession of fourth place in franchise history.
