Montreal @ New Jersey preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 2, 2019 ) New Jersey 3, Montreal 2

The Montreal Canadiens saw a three-goal lead in the first period evaporate in short order last time out, as the club fell for the fifth time in seven outings (2-4-1). The Canadiens look to rebound from that demoralizing result and prevent a three-game sweep by the sputtering New Jersey Devils on Monday when the clubs meet at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

"I think once they scored that second goal, we just tightened up. I thought we froze, even in the third period," Montreal coach Claude Julien told reporters following Saturday's 6-3 setback to Toronto. "... We couldn't even make a play, I don't know why." Julien also referenced the Canadiens' struggles in the third period, during which the club has been outscored 11-1 in the last five outings to find itself clinging to the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The first period on Saturday wasn't kind to the Metropolitan Division cellar-dwelling Devils, who failed to adjust to several new faces in the lineup and surrendered three tallies in the opening 20 minutes of a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers. "The guys that are in the lineup have to be ready to play and we've got to do our best to prepare ourselves to play no matter what happens," said forward Kyle Palmieri, who leads the team in goals (26) and points (48).

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN2, RDS (Montreal), MSG Plus (New Jersey)

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (33-22-7): Tomas Tatar pushed his goal-scoring streak to three games and point streak to four by tallying in the first period versus the Maple Leafs. Defenseman Jeff Petry assisted on that goal and scored on the power play just 68 seconds later to give Montreal a 3-0 lead before it all went south on Saturday. "You get up 3-0, you should come away with a win. We didn't do that," Brendan Gallagher (team-leading 26 goals) told reporters. "The only choice we have is to learn from this and make sure that it doesn't happen again because it's a pretty (bad) feeling and it stings more than a regular loss."

ABOUT THE DEVILS (24-30-8): Nico Hischier set up captain Andy Greene's goal to notch his 26th assist, tying him with reigning Hart Trophy recipient Taylor Hall for the team lead in that department. The 20-year-old Hischier has tormented Montreal this season, scoring once in a 5-2 victory on Nov. 21 before capping a two-goal performance by tallying 1:56 into overtime of a 3-2 win on Feb. 2. Palmieri scored in the first encounter with the Canadiens and has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last eight games.

OVERTIME

1. Montreal C Max Domi, who leads the team in assists (34) and points (54), has scored three goals and set up two others during his four-game point streak.

2. Devils C Pavel Zacha (upper body), who is questionable to play on Monday, scored twice in the first meeting with the Canadiens.

3. Montreal F Andrew Shaw had a goal and an assist on Saturday heading into a tilt with New Jersey, against which he had two assists on Nov. 21.

PREDICTION: Canadiens 5, Devils 2