Hall aims to keep streaking as Devils host Habs

NEWARK, N.J. -- The last 25 times Taylor Hall has taken the ice, he has registered at least one point. In the last 30 years, he's in select company as the eighth different player to put together a streak this long.

However, Hall's production is not translating into consistent wins for the New Jersey Devils.

Hall seeks a point in his 26th straight appearance while the Devils attempt to end a three-game losing streak when they host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

Hall has two different streaks because he missed the final three games before the All-Star break due to injury.

He has 18 goals and 18 assists in his last 25 games since being kept off the scoresheet on Dec. 30. He has 13 goals and 11 assists in his last 18 contests.

Hall is the first since Sidney Crosby in 2010-11 to get a point in 25 straight appearances. If he records another point Tuesday, Hall would become the fifth to do it in 26 games, joining Mario Lemieux (46 games, 1989-90), Mats Sundin (30 games, 1992-93), Steve Yzerman (28 games, 1988-89) and Patrick Kane (26 games, 2015-16).

Hall is up to 30 goals and 72 points and appears likely to match or break his previous career best of 80 points set during the 2013-14 season with Edmonton.

Hall's latest productive showing occurred during a 3-2 home loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. The 26-year-old recorded the primary assist on Sami Vatanen's power-play goal and also scored late in the third period.

"We've played with energy, I think we've played with pace," Devils goaltender Cory Schneider told reporters. "But even when you're in a playoff spot or you're having a good year, sometimes you need a little more desperation in your game."

Still, his 21st multi-point game did not result in a win and the Devils (33-25-8) are 9-9 in the last 18 games and 11-12-2 in Hall's last 25 appearances.

New Jersey also is 15-5-2 when Hall records at least two points with three of those occurring during the All-Star break.

The inconsistent overall play places the Devils in the first wild-card spot with 74 points. They are three points ahead of Columbus and five ahead of the Florida Panthers.

"I'd give it all up for a couple of wins," Hall told reporters.

Despite falling short, the Devils believed Sunday's game was significantly better than Friday's 3-1 loss at Carolina. New Jersey had 35 shots on goal after getting 24 Friday.

"Tonight, we played much more to the identity we want to play with," Devils coach John Hynes told reporters. "I think that you can see in shots, scoring chances, the way we played, it was better than what did over the weekend, so that's a step in the right direction, but we know this stretch of games here is the final push to the end. But there's plenty left, so let's take a day tomorrow to regroup, then worry about Montreal. You can't worry about what's happened in the past or what's going to go beyond that."

Montreal (25-29-11) is in 14th place and its 167 goals are the third fewest in the league only behind Buffalo and Edmonton. The Canadiens have gained a point in their last seven games (3-0-4), which equals their longest streak of the season.

Montreal is 1-0-1 on a six-game road trip after posting a 6-3 win over the New York Islanders Friday and dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to the Boston Bruins the following night.

Brendan Gallagher scored his 23rd goal Saturday, putting him one shy of his career high set in 2014-15. He also scored Friday, giving him goals in consecutive games for the sixth time this season.

Antti Niemi also made a career-high 48 saves as the Canadiens allowed 50 shots, including 21 on the power play.

"He deserved better and at the end of the day, I'm not going to complain about our guys' effort," Montreal coach Claude Julien told reporters after his team allowed six power plays for the third time this season.

Montreal will be without left winger Max Pacioretty for a second straight game. The Canadiens announced Monday that Pacioretty is out six weeks with a knee injury he suffering Friday.

Montreal took the first meeting when Tomas Plekanec scored 1:52 into overtime in a 2-1 home win on Dec. 14. The Canadiens have gained a point in the last 10 meetings (8-0-2) with the Devils and are 12-2-2 in the last 16 encounters.