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 was the noise of Montreal Canadiens fans, who traveled extremely well to see their team fight for a better spot in the Atlantic Division.
Through dueling chants between the two fanbases and 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 always traveled in droves, but the set of circumstances tonight made for a showing far past any contest they’ve had in Newark in a long time (if ever):
It was a Saturday, Cole Caufield was one goal away from 50, and the Habs were just four points behind first with a game in hand. The Habs fans had chants going before warm-ups even started.
Montreal has one of the most passionate fanbases in the league & they always travel super well.
Just let this #GoHabsGo chant from warmups speak for itself.
They followed it up with a an “Olé, Olé, Olé” singalong.
Can the #NJDevils spoil their fun!? pic.twitter.com/xhMKJHPCGr
— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) April 4, 2026
The noise level got cranked up ten-fold when the Devils staged a dramatic comeback from down 3-0 to tie it and send it into overtime. The extra session was as dramatic as they come, with a multitude of chances going both ways.
Not only was it good for Devils fans to experience this crazy atmosphere in a lost season, but the players certainly fed off it as well.
“It was a hell of a game,” said Devils’ netminder Jake Allen postgame. “Their fans were in it. Our fans were in it. It was probably the most entertainment we’ve had in the building from crowd noise this year. It was a fun game to play. Obviously, we came just short but showed a lot of resilience.”
“Good on our guys to give our side of the crowd something to cheer about right to the very end,” added head coach Sheldon Keefe. “It was a fun game. Fun atmosphere, two teams that play hard.”
Meier – Hischier – Mercer Line Excels
With so much talk about Jack Hughes‘ line’s incredible success, the trio of Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer has been sneakily very solid — and was once again tonight. In 14:03 together, they outshot a potent Canadiens’ squad 13-4, owning an incredible 81.6% of the on-ice expected goal share.
Mercer’s goal when the Devils were down 3-0 was what brought the team — and Devils fans in the crowd — back into it. If it weren’t for a lack of finishing, the line easily could have had a couple more goals, though Meier did score in a 6-on-5 scenario to send it to overtime.
That shot was nasty! 😮💨
Dawson Mercer lights the lamp for the @NJDevils!
📺: @Sportsnet & @TVASports ➡️ pic.twitter.com/mzfnn7Oyow
— NHL (@NHL) April 5, 2026
“They’ve been very good for quite some time,” said Keefe. “Especially since [Arseny] Gritsyuk’s gone out, we’ve been kind of a two-line group. Those guys have really been carrying us, and we’ve been asking a lot: big minutes, heavy matchups,” he continued.
Fourth Line Continues to Struggle
The Devils called up both Marc McLaughlin and Brian Halonen in hopes that change would bring out the best in a fourth line that has struggled nearly all season.
“[This] opportunity presents itself because we haven’t liked how the fourth line has looked or played,” said Keefe to NJD.TV in the morning. Unfortunately for the Devils, they mightily struggled.
According to Moneypuck, in very limited minutes, the new-look fourth line comprised of the call-ups plus Paul Cotter did not register a single shot on goal (0-5) or even a shot attempt (0-9). For both McLaughlin and Halonen, it had been months since they’d seen any NHL action, so they certainly looked a little rusty.
It wouldn’t be fair to judge the individual’s play too much in such a small sample, but with time running out on 2025-26, the Devils have still not found a consistent fourth line for anything more than a few games at a time. It should go without saying that it’s more difficult to string wins together when a team can’t roll four lines effectively.
Moving Forward
Grab your popcorn. The Devils — now 39-34-3 — will get another crack at the Habs tomorrow as they head up to Montreal, tomorrow night at 7:00 PM EDT.
