MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens showed they had some fight in them despite losing the first game of their NHL pre-season on Monday night.

Down by two goals against the Devils late in the game, the Canadiens threw everything they had at the visitors but New Jersey held on for the 3-2 victory.

"We're all competitive guys," said Brendan Gallagher, who finished with five shots on net. "It doesn't matter what you're playing. It could have been an empty building, and everyone would have still showed up and competed right to the end.

"It's a big reason why we're all here. You want to win no matter what you're playing. It sucks when you don't win."

Down 3-1 with three minutes on the clock, defenceman Zach Redmond got one back for Montreal. Redmond's initial shot from the face-off dot was blocked by John Quenneville, but the Habs player found the back of the net on the second attempt.

In the game's dying seconds, the Habs (0-1-0) put all sorts of pressure on goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who came into the game at the start of the third period.

With Montreal's next empty, Blackwood stopped back-to-back shots by Alex Galchenyuk and Gallagher to preserve New Jersey's lead.

On the last play of the game, Blackwood made a pad save on Artturi Lehkonen, then sprawled out on the ice to keep the rebound from crossing the goal line.

"If I don't make it to the NHL, I'll be going back to Europe. So I need to perform now and show what I can do," said Lehkonen, who plays for Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League.

New Jersey (2-0-0) got two power-play goals from Adam Henrique before Michael McLeod scored the winner at 14:13 of the third period.

Scott Wedgewood, who made four NHL starts last season, made 26 saves for the Devils through two periods. Blackwood stopped 13-of-14 shots.

Henrique scored his first of the game at 11:19 of the first. Playing with the man advantage, the Devils forward jumped on a loose puck in the crease after Mike Condon gave up a big rebound off a point shot.

Henrique scored his second at 10:52 of the second period to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead. With Gallagher serving Montreal's too-many-men penalty, Henrique scored on a snap shot from the left face-off circle after a decisive zone entry by Taylor Hall.

Defenceman Yohann Auvitu assisted on both of his goals.

Hall, playing his first game with the Devils since being traded from Edmonton for Adam Larsson in the off-season, was left off the score sheet. The 2010 first-overall draft pick played on a line with Henrique and former Canadien Devante Smith-Pelly.

Markus Eisenschmid, who made 28 appearances for Montreal's AHL affiliate the St. John's IceCaps, got the Canadiens on the board at 4:48 of the first.

Mike Condon stopped 8-of-10 shots he faced before coming off midway through the second period. His replacement, Charlie Lindgren, made 16 saves.

Smith-Pelly, all alone at the side of the net, almost doubled the visitors' lead at the start of the third period but Lindgren somehow got a glove on his shot.

"The puck went out to the front and I reached my glove as far as I could," said Lindgren, 22. "That was pretty cool. I definitely soaked this one in."

Lindgren couldn't pull off another miraculous save when McLeod of the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads made it 3-1 for New Jersey at 14:13 of the third.

Note: This was the first of five pre-season games for Montreal in the span of a week. The Habs play the Washington Capitals next on Tuesday.